By ANNIE GOELLER, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
A proposed Interstate 69 extension route could be diverted from the Center Grove area if a proposed state bill gets final approval.
State senators drafted an amendment that would prevent the interstate from running through Perry Township, just north of Johnson County. Without the interstate there, a route through Johnson County is unlikely, a state senator said.
County and state officials have spent four years discussing the route, which would follow State Road 37 through White River Township, and meeting with concerned residents and business owners. Now, the route could move west and out of Johnson County.
The amendment to Gov. Mitch Daniels’ Major Moves bill would prevent a major highway from traveling through any township with a population of at least 80,000. Indiana has 10 townships with an estimated population of more than 80,000. Five are in Marion County, but none is in Johnson County, according to population figures.
Next, the bill will move to the full Senate for a vote. If it passes, it would be reviewed and possibly voted on again by both the House and the Senate.
Discussions with a Perry Township citizens group, which also includes members from Johnson County, contributed to the decision. A shift of the interstate would stop businesses and homes in the area from moving and contributing to a loss of jobs, State Sen. Brent Waltz said. Waltz, a Republican who represents parts of northern Johnson County and most of Perry Township and a small part of Center Township in Indianapolis, spearheaded the changes.
Senators estimate that more than 1,000 jobs could be lost if the interstate were built, he said. In addition, houses and businesses moved would total about $120 million in lost property values for the township, he said.
Other groups in the state have also asked that the interstate route be moved. For example, the Hoosier Environmental Council would like to see I-69 follow Interstate 70 to Terre Haute and then U.S. 41 to Evansville. This route would have the smallest impact on environmental resources in the state, executive director Tim Maloney said.
Moving the Perry Township section is estimated to cost as much as $500,000 for studies and research, Waltz said.
If the bill passes, it would be up to the Indiana Department of Transportation and Daniels to plot a new course for the interstate.
The Senate committee made other changes to the bill, which would allow Daniels to complete a deal to lease the Indiana Toll Road across northern Indiana to a private, Australian-Spanish consortium for 75 years for $3.85 billion. The company would maintain and operate the highway and receive its toll revenue.
Although changes approved Thursday would not affect the proposed toll road lease, one change would require a governor to get legislative approval to make any other highway or bridge a tollway. Daniels wants to make the planned extension of I-69 through southern Indiana a toll road and lease it.
Another change would set aside $400 million in a trust fund that could not be tapped until its balance had grown to $1 billion. After that, interest from the fund could be spent on transportation projects.
In a news conference Thursday, Daniels said he would be flexible in moving the interstate as long as the project could move forward with no further delays.
“As long as we can build I-69, I’m very open to variations in how we do it,” he said.
Officials from the state transportation department, which has been planning the route for several years, are not ready to map out new routes yet, said Gary Abell, spokesman for the department.
Plans could still change again in the course of the next few weeks. Making new plans or changes is premature at this point, he said.
Waltz was joined by Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, and State Reps. David Frizzell, R-Indianapolis, Lawrence Buell, R-Indianapolis, and Mike Murphy, R-Indianapolis, in announcing the amendment.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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