By ANNIE GOELLER, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
The rerouting of a major interstate is stopping builders and fire and county officials from making decisions on the fate of homes, a fire station and a major route through Johnson County.
Motorists worry the change will postpone improvements to a highway that more than 30,000 vehicles travel on every day.
An amendment to Major Moves, Gov. Mitch Daniels’ transportation plan, would move the route of Interstate 69 west and likely out of Johnson County.
The move affects the location of a fire station and a school in Center Grove, the placement of 600 proposed homes and 20 businesses, and the route of a possible east-west corridor across the county.
The original plan called for the interstate to follow State Road 37, slicing through the northwest corner of Johnson County.
Now, the highway would be moved out of Perry Township in Marion County to save businesses and homes in its path.
Geographically, keeping the route in Johnson County along State Road 37 would be nearly impossible with that change, Sen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood, said last week. Waltz represents northern Johnson County, most of Perry Township and parts of Center Township in Indianapolis.
Local legislators and officials are divided on the issue.
Some claim the move will allow more businesses to build along State Road 37.
Others argue the interstate was needed for economic development and to ensure improvements to the heavily traveled route. County commissioners plan to meet with state legislators to discuss their concerns about the move.
A Franklin man who travels the road daily said moving the route would result in more bumps and traffic during his daily drive.
Extending I-69 along State Road 37 guaranteed improvements and road work to the highly traveled route, Pat Hagan said. Moving the highway would mean the road likely won’t get the improvements it needs, he said.
For officials, another change to the plans adds more time to the waiting game they’ve been playing since the route from Indianapolis to Evansville was first discussed more than a decade ago.
West Grove Elementary School and a White River Township fire station sat in the way of the proposed highway.
In October, officials learned the site for the elementary school would not have to be moved, but the fire station was in the path of a proposed interchange at Smith Valley Road.
Plans on a fourth fire station in White River Township have been postponed because of the route, said Jim Engmark, spokesman for the White River Township Fire Department.
If the State Road 37 station has to move, officials will need to replace it before considering building a fourth station to serve another part of the township, he said.
The move could also affect the route of an east/west corridor through the county, commissioner R.J. McConnell said. The corridor was envisioned as linking the future I-69 to Interstate 74. Changing I-69 could affect the route, he said.
Developers of Riverwalk, formerly called McCarty Farms, are basing their building plan on the highway.
The proposed 600 homes and 20 businesses will be constructed from east to west on the property so builders can wait for the route of I-69 to be decided, said Ernie Reno, spokesman for the developers.
A decision on the final route would dictate how much land they would have to give up for the highway, he said.
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