The Evansville Courier & Journal
If you are having a difficult time following news of the cost estimates for construction of Interstate 69 between Evansville and Indianapolis, join the club. This newspaper has closely monitored this issue from the beginning, and we are having difficulty as well.
Eric Bradner of the Courier & Press Capitol Bureau reported Sept. 20 about the ups and downs of attempting to fund the long-sought interstate highway through Southwestern Indiana.
As those who have followed the issue know, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels set aside $700 million from his Major Moves highway construction initiative for construction of the highway between Evansville and Crane, a leg about halfway to Indianapolis.
Even though construction has begun on the southern leg, the state has yet to determine how to pay for the highway from Crane to Indianapolis.
And now there are questions about how far the $700 million will stretch.
Bradner reported that back in 2003, the estimated cost of the highway from Evansville to Indianapolis was $1.77 billion, but earlier this year, the Indiana Department of Transportation released draft environmental impact statements which showed the cost estimate at $3.1 billion.
But, INDOT officials added that their own estimates are too high - and the cost will be less than the $3.1 billion.
Go figure.
An INDOT spokesman said it is nearly impossible to accurately estimate construction costs. He pointed out that the first I-69 contract came in at $25.2 million, while it had been projected at $41.8 million, and the second contract went for $13,5 million, while it had been projected at $20.6 million.
That's likely due to the recession, which has contractors looking for work, and it is a testament to the belief that the more quickly this highway is built, the better it will be in terms of construction costs.
Indeed, had organized opponents of the highway not put up so much resistance in the early years, surely construction of the highway would be much further along and at a lower cost.
Even so, finding the funds for completion the highway will not be easy, considering that most of it will come from in-state sources.
This week, Courier & Press reader Harold Lockyear asked why the federal government is not paying more, considering that it will a federal interstate highway.
Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar has pointed out on several occasions that if federal money is to be used, it will have to come from Indiana's share of federal highway funds and that there will be no special federal funding.
Back in 1998, Lugar told Evansville's Downtown Rotary Club, "The federal role in (I-69) is essentially done. Your focus needs to be on the state capital."
Also, Lockyear asked about Congress appropriating funds for I-69 during then-8th District Rep. John Hostettler's tenure. Hostettler did announce in 2000 a $600,000 award to Indiana for Interstate 69.
Other federal awards for planning were approved during those years, but they were not in amounts that would dent the construction costs.
From all we can tell, I-69 between Evansville and Indianapolis is by default a state responsibility. If we want it, we will have to pay for it.
To that end, INDOT has suggested some cost-saving measures, such as narrowing medians and postponing or eliminating interchanges at Pike County Road 600 North and the other at Daviess County Road 375 South.
Those possibilities strike us as decisions better made when INDOT gets a firmer grip on whether the cost is going to be - closer to $3.1 billion or $1.77 billion?
We do know this: To cut Petersburg (the Pike County interchange) out of the loop would be an injustice. Here's why: The discussion about a direct Evansville-to Indianapolis highway has gone on for 60 years, and the current discussion - the one that led to today's construction - has gone on for a good 20 years.
Early on, when it became clear that highway proponents had finally captured the ear of key state and federal officials, opposition from Indianapolis and Bloomington got serious. For a time, it looked bleak, as highway foes carried the early public relations war.
But among those who stayed with struggle in favor of a highway were Petersburg and Pike County officials and residents, who recognized the importance of a modern interstate highway to their coal country communities.
It is doubtful any one group of people in Indiana have a better appreciation for what an interstate highway connection would mean to their economy and communities.
What a shame it would be if those early backers of the highway were cut out of the loop, now that it is close to becoming a reality.
And despite the roller-coaster cost estimates, we expect Interstate 69 will be finished.
It won't be easy, but it will be done.