Local officials still have concerns about the progress of Interstate 69 Section 5.
And they want to continue to receive updates from the Indiana Department of Transportation and its developer, I-69 Development Partners, as the project continues.
"I think transparency in where we are is the goal," Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton said during a Friday afternoon meeting of the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee. "Whatever the financial structure is, whatever the operational structures are, it's just important that, with a public project like this, we have transparency about where we are with the schedule."
That's because the project has affected and will continue to affect people's daily commutes and their weekend plans, among other daily travel issues, Hamilton said.
Officials' concerns come amid construction delays and financial turmoil for the contractor working on Section 5.
I-69 Development Partners last week issued default notices to contractor Isolux Corsan for failure to promptly pay subcontractors and for falling behind on a revised completion schedule for Section 5 of Interstate 69.
As a result of those notices, Fitch Ratings lowered its rating for the Indiana Finance Authority's private activity bonds, issued on behalf of I-69 Development Partners to help finance the project, to junk status.
The downgrade means anyone who bought the bonds when they were originally sold likely would have a difficult time selling them, at least in the current market.