FORT WAYNE — Expanding U.S. 33 to a four-lane freeway, adding lanes to U.S. 6, widening S.R. 205 and making S.R. 9 a “super two” highway sit atop a list of 54 desired regional transportation and logistics projects that were announced Tuesday.
The list of projects was developed by Conexus Indiana and its Northeast Regional Logistics Council, which includes representatives from area transportation- and logistics-related businesses, and economic development organizations. It targets all four methods of delivering goods: road, rail, air and water.
The driving force behind the effort is to make the region’s transportation and logistics system more efficient, while also serving as a road map when it comes to deciding which projects should get funding.
Indiana is No. 1 among states for its concentration of manufacturing businesses, said John Sampson, president and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership and a member of the logistics council, and northeast Indiana has the highest concentration of manufacturing businesses in the state.
“So when it comes to manufacturing, movement of goods, there’s no other region in the state than northeast Indiana that has to have transportation projects well-funded and moving every single year,” Sampson said at a news conference in Fort Wayne.
“We cannot be caught flat-footed because we don’t know what our priorities are.”
The 54 proposed projects that together would cost roughly $4 billion are contained in a report titled “Accelerating Manufacturing Excellence Through World-Class Logistics” that was produced by Conexus Indiana, an Indianapolis-based organization that works to advance transportation and logistics initiatives throughout the state.
David Holt, vice president of operations and business development at Conexus Indiana, said the report takes a long-term view of the region’s transportation and logistics needs, as identified by business leaders. The report also identifies projects considered important in each of the 13 counties that are represented by the Northeast Regional Logistics Council.
“We know that not everything is going to happen on these lists, but the main thing of it is identifying for (local, state and national leaders) the things that need to happen over the next 30 years,” Holt said.
Said Geary Buchanan, president of Buchanan Hauling & Rigging in Fort Wayne and chair of the regional logistics council: “If you don’t have a plan with some projects to present to your legislators when they start passing out money for projects, you get bypassed. And quite frankly, I think northeast Indiana is overlooked quite a bit.”
Projects in the report are prioritized in four tiers. Among the first-tier projects that were identified by the council as being particularly important to the region are:
• Converting U.S. 33 from a two-lane highway to a four-lane freeway from Elkhart to the Ohio state line;
• Upgrading U.S. 6 from two lanes to a four-lane freeway from west of Kendallville to the Ohio state line, and designating it a heavy haul route;
• Improving and widening S.R. 205 from U.S. 30 in Columbia City to Interstate 69 in DeKalb County;
• Making S.R. 9 a “super two” highway from Marion north to the Indiana Toll Road; and
• Building an Interstate 469 “loop” west and north of Fort Wayne, beginning at the Roanoke exit of I-69 and ending at I-69 south of Auburn.
The report also includes public policy proposals that would benefit transportation and logistics in northeast Indiana, and offers workforce development goals for ensuring potential employees possess the skills needed by companies throughout the region.
“I think I can speak for all the council members when I say that this is a significant milestone for our region,” Buchanan said. “You have for the first time a detailed asset map that outlines the transportation needs for all four modes of transportation in northeast Indiana, and you have identified public policy and workforce talent development initiatives.”