INDIANAPOLIS — A Central Indiana lawmaker is planning to propose legislation next year that could reignite debate on the route of the final section of the Interstate 69 expansion.
The sixth section will extend the road north from Martinsville to Indianapolis, but a law passed in 2006 restricts it from entering Indianapolis’ Perry Township. State Rep. John Price, a Greenwood Republican, said this week he’s exploring introducing legislation as a way to review the route because of what he believes are the economic development benefits of the road following the Indiana 37 corridor in Johnson County, which is immediately south of Perry Township.
Price, a longtime county official before winning election to the Indiana House in 2012, said the county has worked to add water and utility infrastructure along Indiana 37 to support the road. The fifth section, which is in the initial phases of construction, is updating the existing Indiana 37 corridor from Bloomington up to Martinsville. However, a state senator whose district covers a portion of Perry Township led an effort for the ban in 2006 because of concerns of the road entering a more developed area of Indiana 37 and tying into a busy Interstate 465 interchange.
State Sen. Pat Miller, an Indianapolis Republican, said she would oppose efforts of lifting the ban in Perry Township. Miller said she wants the road to go west of the suburban township and tie into Interstate 70, which she said already has the lanes to handle an influx of I-69 traffic.
“I expect (the Indiana Department of Transportation) to follow the law,” Miller said.
Price said he’s looking for a compromise, and he’s open to options in hopes of alleviating any roadblocks to the road going through Johnson County. Discussions could include releasing a portion of the township from the ban, Price said, while still balancing the concerns of lawmakers who worked to put in the restriction. Price said he’s open to the road taking a western route as it heads more north into the Indianapolis area.
“A lot of money has been spent in Johnson County in preparation for (I-69.) It would be a shame to see it go away from here without putting up a good fight for this area,” Price said, “and that’s what I plan to do.”
An initial study of the sixth section of the project explored a route that would follow Indiana 37 to I-465. However, INDOT is beginning a second environmental study, which is a step in the process of determining the final route for the sixth section.
INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield said the study will perform a new analysis of options for the route. The state has not identified funding to construct the sixth section of the project. The fifth section is being funded through a public-private partnership and is set to open in October 2016.
“INDOT will work to advance the alignment identified in the Tier 2 review that minimizes impacts to the natural and human environment, including the project cost,” Wingfield said in a released statement.