Economic growth and I-69: Experts say interstates offer opportunities, not guarantees

Ron Walker, president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corp., knows there are some inquiries from prospective companies that he can’t respond to due to the lack of a nearby interstate.

Between August 2011 and August 2012, his agency received 55 site location requests but was unable to respond to 28 of them “because of a lack of available and appropriate properties,” according to BEDC records. In not all cases was the absence of an interstate the reason Bloomington had to recuse itself, but Walker said it was a factor in some of those cases.

For that reason alone, the Interstate 69 extension will give the BEDC more cards to play once it reaches Bloomington.