A worker helps build a mechanically stabilized wall where I-69 will cross Bolin Lane along I-69’s Section 4. Staff photo Jeremy Hogan
Tom Tokarski has enjoyed peaceful nights at his rural home ever since the Monroe County commissioners made changes to a county ordinance that silenced construction noise from an Interstate 69 work site near his property.
He’s not pleased that the stillness might end, now that the Indiana Department of Transportation is challenging the county ordinance in court. In a lawsuit filed last Friday in Marion Superior Court, INDOT argues that the noise ordinance is illegal under Indiana’s Home Rule Act, which prevents counties from imposing burdens or regulating the state.
“The peace and quiet out here is what people really appreciate and value, and that’s been taken away from us,” said Tokarski, who was among those who urged the commissioners to adopt the ordinance two weeks ago.
The ordinance was revised largely to address complaints about late night noise from Interstate 69 construction sites. INDOT is arguing in its lawsuit that the revised ordinance throws I-69 construction, already behind schedule, off its timetable even more.
“It’s trying to control what INDOT is doing under state law, and we think that’s improper,” said Will Wingfield, INDOT spokesman.
For Tokarski, the health of county residents is more important than opening a highway on schedule. He said if contractors are running behind, it’s because of the technical difficulties they’ve encountered building across the rugged terrain of western Monroe County.
“I don’t see the problem if they’re delayed a few weeks by not being able to work all night,” Tokarski said. “The way we see it, it’s more than an inconvenience. It’s putting the health and safety of the citizens of Monroe County at risk in order to meet an arbitrary deadline.”
One of the biggest problems the state has with the ordinance is that contracts were signed and work begun before the ordinance was put in place.
© 2024 HeraldTimesOnline, Bloomington, IN