I-67 Coalition pushing for 8 year completion proposal

Huntingburg — “I think the stars are starting to align.”

So said Coalition President and CEO of OFS Brands Hank Menke. He was speaking about the I-67 Coalition’s continued progress towards a connection between the improved U.S. 231 portion and I-69 east of Washington. “Conexus has identified 19 future corridors in the state that are critical. One of those is the Jasper- and Huntingburg-area being connected to I-69.”

Menke and four other members of the coalition, Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz, Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner, Attorney Eric Shue, and John Didomizio, Director of Business Development with Morley and Associates, held a press conference on Monday to speak about the groups’ efforts and current status.

According to Menke, Conexus Indiana, a logistics and manufacturing think tank, is expected to include I-67 in its recommendations to a state commission at the end of this year to place certain corridors in a tiered system that will determine how soon each needs to be finished. The tiers are divided into three levels according to importance: Tier 1 is three to five years, Tier 2 is five to eight years, and Tier 3 is 15 to 20 years to completion. “We know I-69 is going to be a Tier 1,” Menke said. ““We want to make darn sure that this project is either in Tier 1 or Tier 2.”

Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz explained Conexus Indiana’s role. “They’ve really become a private sector adviser to INDOT [the Indiana Department of Transportation],” he said. “When they identify 19 corridors for the future of Indiana, it resonates, because they do it independently. They do it nonpolitically.”

Last week the coalition made their second annual fly-in to D.C. and met with Indiana Representatives Andre Carson, Larry Bucshon and Todd Young along with Indiana Senators Dan Coats and Joe Donnelly. Since Kentucky also has a stake in the completed interstate that will connect Bowling Green to northern Indiana and Michigan, they met with Kentucky Representative Brett Guthrie and Senator Mitch McConnell.

Menke explained the coalition was welcomed by all the statesmen. “This being the second year we have been in, they know who we are,” he said. “And seeing how much work we are already putting into this proposal has their attention.”

The group is exploring options to fund the project and as federal funds dry up, a public-private partnership (P3) has become more appealing. According to the Cambridge Study the coalition commissioned last year, the economic development along the corridor supports the model whether it is publicly funded or a public-private partnership.

“This is the way roads were built in the ’30s ’40s and ’50s,” Menke said. “It wasn’t until the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s that the federal government funded these projects.”

“This coalition is an example of those ideas coming together, the combination of public and private to create this tool to move forward,” Mayor Spinner said.

The group also explained that the 38 miles between the finished portion of U.S. 231 and the I-69 bypass around Washington is key in the completion of the project. Although currently the group has continued to build interest and support from Tennessee to northern Indiana, they are open to other options to complete the route through Dubois County without federal or state assistance.

“There may be a way to do it,” Didomizio explained. “There are other areas of the country that have done it. Especially once you get out of the country there are plenty of examples of them doing it on their own. We could sell the potential this route has to these other companies to get them involved.”

[quote style=”boxed”]”We call ourselves America’s most cost efficient interstate since it’s 90 percent built already.” Attorney Eric Schue[/quote]

Menke maintains that a unified front from the public and private parties involved is essential as they move forward. He is passionate about getting this interstate completed. “I am concerned about my children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren. We must get this plugged in.”