He ought to try to travel from Bloomington to Evansville sometime.
At one point along the long and bumpy road to Interstate 69, then-Gov. Frank O'Bannon appeared ready to proceed with planning and construction of a direct route between Evansville and Indianapolis.
But intense pressure from environmentalists persuaded him to start over. They insisted that planning had been inadequate, and they got their way with a brand-new environmental impact study.
That was in 1998, and this newspaper hammered O'Bannon for his decision because it would add more years to the process on a project that had been in the talking stages for something like 50 years.
It did add years, but O'Bannon proved the wiser for that decision. His highway department commissioned what was said to be the most comprehensive environmental highway study done anywhere in the United States.
With that exhaustive study in hand, O'Bannon in early 2003 came to the same conclusion he had reached years earlier: A direct route was the most sensible plan for connecting Evansville, Bloomington and Indianapolis.
Even though the wheels were set in motion by O'Bannon and moved along aggressively by current Gov. Mitch Daniels, environmentalists have maintained that it is not a done deal.
To that end, and to the surprise of no one, environmentalists and citizens groups filed a long-expected suit in federal court on Monday, claiming that the state rigged the process on the way to choosing the direct route.
According to The Associated Press, John Moore, senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center of Chicago, which is representing the plaintiffs, said that the Indiana Department of Transportation "simply did not take a look at Southern Indiana to determine what's best for this part of the state."
Hogwash!
What is best for Southern Indiana is not keeping it in the dark ages of transportation for another 50 years.
There is a large section of Southern Indiana untouched by a modern interstate-type highway. It is that area through which the so-called "missing spoke" would pass. Hoosiers who live in that part of the state must now subject themselves to considerable time and sometimes dangerous driv-ing for medical care, education, business, employment and merely the enjoyment of the rest of their state. They do not have access to the type of modern transportation routes enjoyed by Hoosiers in Indianapolis, Terre Haute and New Albany, just to name a few.
The lawsuit alleges that the state did not seriously consider upgrading the existing Interstate 70 and U.S. 41 that run through Terre Haute.
That's because it is not a serious option.
The flaw in the groups' argument is that U.S. 41 is not an interstate highway. It would have to be almost completely rebuilt from Evansville to Terre Haute, cutting off access roads, homes and businesses that now directly connect to the highway. It would be a major construction job that would be no less inconvenient for people than the direct-highway construction.
And when it was over, there would still be no direct highway between Evansville and Bloomington. Indiana University students from this part of the state would still have to use curvy, two-lane roads to travel back and forth to school and home.
The truth is, any major highway project takes away green space; it is unavoidable. Indiana would have no interstate highways were that an absolute restriction. That's why planners must endeavor to do the least damage possible while providing people with a safe, efficient infrastructure for travel.
We recall that INDOT previously made a commitment to preserve or create three acres of forest for every acre that I-69 construction takes away. That's a responsible approach.
The problem with the environmental impact study, from the plaintiffs' standpoint, is that it simply did not go their way. So now they are attempting to stop the project in court.
The people of Southwestern Indiana who must use outdated roadways for essential travel have had enough delays. The court should make short work of this latest delaying tactic.
AMEN!
The enviros destroyed New Orleans and I guess they won't be happy until all of America is suffed out.
I-69 is suppose to run near our house. At this rate I expect to be 90 when it is completed