It could be up to three years before anyone knows the exact route of Interstate 69 from Martinsville to Indianapolis.
At the I-69 Regional Summit in Bloomington last week, Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Karl Browning said the path won't be determined until the next level environmental study has been completed. Later in the week, INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield said the Tier 2 environmental impact statement is expected to be completed in two to three years. The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to prepare environmental impact statements for major federal actions that significantly affect the quality of the human environment, according to the Federal Highway Administration's website.
The Federal Highway Administration's Record of Decision was released in March of 2004 and approved the selected corridor in the Tier 1 study. The study examined the entire 142 mile path from Evansville to Indianapolis and recommended Section 6 — from Martinsville to Indianapolis — follow the path of Ind. 37 to I-465. However, legislation passed in 2006 threw a wrench in those plans.
At that time, legislators reached a compromise with then Gov. Mitch Daniels on his Major Moves transportation bill that would allow him to lease the northern Indiana toll road to a private company. Money from the lease would be used for transportation projects including I-69 construction, but the bill included a caveat intended to prevent I-69 from passing through Perry Township in Marion County. Ind. 37 goes through Perry Township.
Wingfield explained a Tier 2 study is conducted for each section of I-69 between Evansville and Indianapolis. He said a Tier 2 study for each section must be completed before construction on that stretch of I-69 can begin. He said the Tier 1 study takes a high-level view, while the Tier 2 study takes a closer look.
"It's like we're taking a step back and restarting the process," he said. "It becomes more and more refined."
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