Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton described further delays to construction of Interstate 69 Section 5 as “a major cost to us from what the road should have been and more danger for drivers.”
His comments came just hours after Indiana Finance Authority Director Dan Huge told state lawmakers during a meeting Tuesday morning that the new completion date is October 2017.
That’s a full four months later than the most recent target date of June 28, 2017, and it’s a full year later than the original target date, which was Oct. 31 of this year.
And Hamilton said he has his doubts about the ability to meet even the new target date.
“I remain extremely concerned about the prospects of meeting the deadlines and of the contractors performing appropriately during the winter,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “Safety is the No. 1 concern, and this means we’re going to have another year of construction dangers and delays, both for workers and for drivers.”
That echoes concerns the mayor voiced just two weeks ago following two major accidents in the construction zone around Sample Road.
It also echoes comments from members of the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Committee, who in mid-August expressed doubts about the projected schedule, with one member saying it “just isn’t possible” to meet it.
“Within a month (of that meeting), it’s frustrating to see a four-month delay announced,” said Hamilton, who sits on the policy committee. “I’m concerned that this is the second delay, and we haven’t seen execution that gives me confidence we will meet this.”