WAVERLY — The Indiana Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that Ind. 37 has been selected as the preferred route for the sixth section of Interstate 69. The announcement came after INDOT narrowed the number of possible routes to five last summer.
“We’ve been somewhat in limbo over the last few years,” Martinsville Mayor Shannon Kohl said. “I think, now, it’s going to be a weight off of our shoulders. Now, our goal is to get the interchanges that we feel are suitable to keep us growing.”
INDOT Commissioner Brandye Hendrickson made the announcement to a media-only meeting at the I-69 Section 6 office in Waverly.
“The State Road 37 corridor generates the best investment for Hoosiers,” Hendrickson said.
She said that, once completed, the project will generate 4,600 permanent new jobs and $3.5 billion in new personal income by 2025. She also cited traffic safety and reduced travel time to downtown Indianapolis as added benefits of the Ind. 37 route.
“The importance of the I-69 corridor cannot be overstated,” said Jim Schellinger, head of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. “We are at the ‘Crossroads of America.’ We are No. 1 in the nation in interstate highways. Access to modern infrastructure is one of the No. 1 qualities to any person that is looking to expand their business or bring their business to Indiana.”
Hendrickson said that among all of the possible options, the Ind. 37 route also will have the lowest environmental impact on wetlands, forests and farmlands, as well as the least new-terrain construction.
“We want residents and businesses to continue to engage as we find how I-69 will take shape in the future, and in this final segment,” Hendrickson said. “INDOT is working with residents, businesses across the area to best serve them with proposed interchanges, overpasses, underpasses and access roads.
“From an economic development standpoint, it brings a lot of opportunities for businesses in Martinsville,” she said. “The safety impact is exponential. You’ll see a significant safety impact there as well.”
Ind. 37 was one of five possible routes on the table for the new section, which will complete the connection between Evansville and Indianapolis.
Two possible routes would have split from Ind. 37 north of Martinsville and passed north of Brooklyn, south and west of Mooresville, before linking with Interstate 70 west of the Ind. 267 interchange. Two others would have left Ind. 37 north of Martinsville, but traveled along the east side of Morgan County to connect with Interstate 465 at Mann Road.
The state initially had 27 possible routes, before meetings were conducted last year.
Kohl said INDOT has done a great job with listening to the community and thinking about Martinsville’s vision while also listening to its concerns.
“Progress is at our doorstep," Kohl said. "The best thing we can do is make it positive for Martinsville.”
INDOT will have a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at Martinsville High School to discuss the overall impact to the community.