OK guys, if you are going to try and prevent the state from running Interstate 69 through the Bloomington area, then you are going to have to give back the state's university — you can't have one and not the other.
We're kidding, of course, but this seems an appropriate response to the latest antics by the clowns who do transportation planning in Bloomington.
Once again, the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning organization has excluded Interstate 69 from its annual transportation plan. It is a document required by the Federal Highway Administration.
Of course, I-69 is well along on its construction between Evansville and Crane and will soon be bearing down on Bloomington. For the highway to pass through the Bloomington area, it must be a part of that city's transportation plan.
They tried this same stunt back in 2009, only to be threatened by the Indiana Department of Transportation, which suggested that the state might withhold as much as $32.4 million in highway funds Bloomington was counting on for other work. That was about the same time that the planning group and the Bloomington City Council was attempting to block the highway by refusing to give its permission for the state to buy a house along the route. The owner wanted to sell and the state needed to buy, but the Bloomington officials refused, at first. It was only after the state threatened to withhold money that Bloomington gave in and put I-69 in its transportation plan.
The group included I-69 in its plan last year, but are back to the games again, voting May 13 to take it out.
According to the Associated Press, Bloomington City Council member Andy Ruff, also a member of the planning group, said Monroe County residents have unresolved questions on the road's funding, the location of interchanges and the environment. (Don't forget, Indiana conducted one of the most comprehensive environmental studies ever done anywhere before launching this vital project)
There's more: Ruff said, according to The Herald Times, "There comes a time when you stand up to a bully. it is time to stand up for ourselves."
Readers of the Courier & Press should take note: When Ruff talks about "the bully," he is talking about the people of Southwestern Indiana who want and need this highway.
He is talking about Indiana University students and their parents who must worry each time they make the trip to Bloomington on narrow, curvy roads they share with coal trucks and slow-moving farm equipment.
He is talking about the folks in Petersburg and Washington who may need to see a medical specialist in Indianapolis and are concerned about getting there safely.
He is talking about high school band members from Newburgh or Evansville who travel by bus for competition in Indianapolis and hope to make it there without accident.
And yes, there are some from the Evansville area who may just want to see an IU basketball game and want to get there on time. These taxpayers and residents of Southwestern Indiana are the bullies that Ruff is talking about.
Remember this: INDOT is building Interstate 69 at the request of people who for more than 50 years pleaded for a modern highway to Bloomington and Indianapolis.
But even now, Ruff and his gang would deny them safe and timely access to a state university in Bloomington and to the state capital. It's like talking to a ivy-covered brick wall.
In the meantime, the first three sections of the highway between Evansville and Crane are under construction. The fourth section is the one threatened by Bloomington.
INDOT officials say they will take their time and consider their options. That's wise, as long as INDOT continues the rapid construction pace set by Gov. Mitch Daniels. In other words, don't stop now.