Reason for continued delay of I-69 Section 5 project still unclear

After speaking to a reporter Tuesday morning, I-69 Development Partners spokesman Christian Harper said he would try to find answers to questions about what changed since those assurances were made last fall. Harper, the senior vice president of New York-based public relations firm Weber Shandwick, did not call back or respond to multiple voice mail messages until Friday morning, when he provided the following response via email:

“I-69 Development Partners remains fully committed to the successful completion of I-69 Section 5 Corridor Project, and we continue to work in close partnership with the Indiana Finance Authority toward that end. While we have done everything in our power to keep the construction project on schedule, we have determined that it is necessary to move the project completion date back to May 31, 2018.”

The email described a plan to manage traffic as construction continues, but did not specifically address the cause of the delay. Harper did rule out payment issues, which caused subcontractors to stop working on the project for a time last year.

“It is I-69 Development Partners’ understanding that all subcontractors working on the I-69 Section 5 Corridor Project have been paid in full for their work on the project to date,” Harper wrote. “There are no current issues with subcontractor payments.”