A southern Indiana man who was once in charge of getting I-69 built now has a new challenge. Indiana Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Sam Sarvis is now in charge of a single project: getting the bridge built on I-69 connecting Evansville, Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky.
"This is another challenge," said Sarvis. "We'll be starting the environmental process in the fall and I'm really looking forward to working on the last piece of I-69 in Indiana."
Sarvis is no stranger to the I-69 project. In 2009, he was chosen to become the lead man for INDOT on the road where his job was to manage, coordinate, plan and develop it and oversee the construction. Under Sarvis' direction, the state managed to build the roadway from just north of Evansville to Crane, got the work substantially started on the segment from Crane to Bloomington and put the construction in motion for the section from Bloomington to Martinsville.
Now he is working on the new Ohio River Bridge. He says his job is to make the project move forward as smoothly and cost effectively as possible.
"When Governor (Mike) Pence and Governor (Matt) Bevin got together down in Evansville, they committed to an EPA process that will take two or three years," said Sarvis. "Certainly we will do all that we can to speed up that process and that will help determine where and how the bridge gets constructed, at what cost and all those other things that determine how fast construction takes place."
Both Indiana and Kentucky have committed $17 million to advance the project.
"As the Crossroads of America, we know that roads mean jobs here in the Hoosier state," said Governor Pence. "The partnership we are announcing is a significant step in completing the vision of I-69 that will strengthen our transportation network and support economic investment and opportunity for generations of Hoosiers to come."
In much the same way that Indiana looked to innovative methods from construction crews to control costs on the construction of the roadway, officials are hoping the bridge construction can also benefit from some new thinking.
"I-69 is opening up Western Kentucky like never before," said Governor Bevin. "Advancing the Ohio River Crossing will continue to build on that momentum. This additional north-south trunk will invite investment and spark further job growth in Kentucky. Our partnership will pay dividends for the entire Commonwealth."
Indiana officials have created a new road funding task force and at the top of the organization's list is funding for construction of the Ohio River Bridge on I-69.
"Our plan is to try and develop a pretty comprehensive plan for the state's major infrastructure needs," said Indiana Senator Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville). "My feeling is that bridge falls into that category."
At least one estimate puts the price of the bridge at $850 million, with Indiana and Kentucky expected to share those costs. Both states have signed a memorandum of agreement on the project.
"The agreement was the initial step forward that was needed," said Rep. Holli Sullivan, R-Evansville. "It didn't kick it down the road. It is now a piece of the puzzle."
Kenley says the task force is considering all options.
"We've got a lot of funding decisions we are going to have to make."
In the meantime, the work on I-69 continues to move forward between Bloomington and Martinsville. "That construction can be a challenge," said Sarvis. "On the sections up to Bloomington it was all new terrain that was away from everything else. The work between Bloomington and Martinsville is updating an existing road. People are driving through that and it's a different experience."
The work on the bridge is expected to begin even while the state is putting the finishing touches on the last section of I-69 from Martinsville to Indianapolis.
"The environmental work on that part is under way," said Sarvis. "We are expecting a record of decision by the end of next year and after that there will be a couple of years of planning before the construction begins."
Sarvis hopes by then the bridge project will be ready to try and find its own way forward to finish off the interstate project providing the final spoke to the Indiana transportation wheel.
"We're still quite a few years out," said Sarvis. "We're making some steady progress. That's for sure."