Traci Moyer, Daily Reporter staff writer
Eighteen-year-old Matthew Singer of Greenfield won't pay to use Gov. Mitch Daniels' proposed Indiana Commerce Connector. But 67-year-old Jo Apple of McCordsville is sold on the tollway.
One day after plans were announced, mixed reactions formed across Hancock County about plans to build a tollway looping around Indianapolis, connecting the county to several major state highways and interstates.
The question on everyone's mind is where is it going to be built? The answer, however, is vague.
"This is all a concept," said state Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield.
Initial maps shows the tollway cutting a large swath through Hancock County west of Greenfield, but nothing has been decided, Gard said. One of the things to be considered before deciding a specific location will be where it connects in each community.
Counties to the north and south of Hancock County would prefer the tollway's location to run east of Greenfield, Gard said. Regardless of its location, the outer belt is something desperately needed in Hancock County, she said.
"This will be a bypass around Greenfield," she said. 'This will solve a lot of problems. It will take the commercial traffic off Greenfield."
Gard doubts the tollway will be something used frequently by personal vehicles because there will be fees to use the road and limited access and exits that would inconvenience local traffic.
"This is really designed as a commercial corridor," she said. "It will take all the commercial-through traffic off State Road 9."
The tollway offers other benefits to the taxpayers.
"It won't be using tax money," Gard said. "It will be a public-private partnership and will be financed by tolls."
Mike Fruth, Greenfield's engineer, didn't jump on the tollway bandwagon.
"I think we are going to need to get more information before we can assess what the benefits and concerns are going to be on it," he said. "I think it will be a benefit by taking some of the truck traffic off of State (Road) 9, but how that might effect traffic on other routes in and around the city of Greenfield, I don't know."
Only after an exact location of the where the route will be located in Hancock County can the positive and negative effects be determined, Fruth said.
"Depending on where it is located, we may have to re-evaluate our comprehensive plan depending on what impact it will have on the land used."
Joe Copeland, supervisor of the Hancock County Highway Department, said the county might incur some financial obligations from the tollway depending on if local roads will need major improvements to support the traffic created from a tollway.
"I think it's a good thing, but it's kind of vague right now," Copeland said, noting that there will likely be opposition to the tollway.
"If this happens, it could really change the look of things," he said. "Some property owner won't like it, I suspect."
Hancock County Councilman Jim Shelby wants the Commerce Connector built in his district on the eastside of the county.
"No matter where they put it, someone isn't going to like it," Shelby said, noting that the state can expect problems with imminent domain issues.
Derek Towle, Greenfield's traffic safety officer and Hancock County commissioner-elect, found himself in dual rolls. He favors the project if it benefited traffic congestion in Greenfield, but is it detrimental to county roads?
"Depending on what the situation is, it's going to be based on the overall process and how it will benefit Hancock County as a whole," Towle said. "I think some of the things we need to watch out for is to take care of our agriculture community. This could also be a major step toward making our community grow. There's a ripple effect to everything we do."