INDOT hosts information gathering session

Mid-States Corridor Project Seeks Public Input on Preliminary Route Options

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is actively collecting public input on preliminary route alternatives for the Mid-States Corridor project. Officials emphasize that the current proposals are subject to change based on community feedback.

At the public meeting held Wednesday evening at Jasper Middle School, representatives from INDOT and their contractor, Lochmueller Group, presented draft preliminary alternatives and access options for the proposed highway that would run through Dubois County. The meeting focused on gathering input about where access points should be located along the potential routes.

“These are really just to generate conversation and to talk,” said Nicole Minton, Public Outreach Manager for Lochmueller, about the meeting.

It is a checkpoint in the process of the Tier 2 study.

The public was invited to leave comments and information regarding the proposed routes, which also included access points and crossings as it traversed the county.

The project team has divided the study area into five different sections, asking attendees to identify their top two priorities for access in each section. This information will help balance community needs with the proposed alignments.

The current alternatives include three main alignments, each with different access options. Maps at the meeting displayed these options with color-coded icons: green for recommended access points, orange for crossings without highway access, and red for areas where access isn’t recommended.

Minton said these will be adjusted as the group takes into account input from the public and traffic analysis.

Many people at the meeting on Thursday were opposed to the corridor. Minton said they still wanted their input regardless of how they felt about the Mid-States Corridor.

“People feel very passionately about this project, and not everyone is agreeing that necessarily we should be looking at these things. But that doesn’t change the fact that we really would like to have input from people on these things so that we can incorporate that into the study,” they said.

Minton said that emergency response times are also being factored into the planning process, with project officials coordinating with fire departments and other emergency responders to understand how different access configurations might affect their operations.

After the current comment period ends on May 12, the team will refine the alternatives based on public feedback and ongoing studies. These refined alternatives will be presented at a “screening of alternatives” meeting in fall 2025.

“We’ll have a more specific idea of which alignments are being moved forward and which access options are being moved forward then,” Minton explained.

Following that meeting, a preferred alternative will be selected and presented at a public hearing in fall 2026. After gathering final feedback, the document will be finalized, completing the Tier 2 study for Dubois County.

Minton said Lochmueller Group is hosting meetings at the VUJ project office for those who want to discuss the project one-on-one. She said the project team is making efforts to accommodate all community members who wish to provide input, including those who may not be able to attend public meetings or use online surveys.

All comments received will be included in the final environmental document, with summaries of public input typically created after each meeting.

For more information or to provide input on the Mid-States Corridor project, community members can visit the project office or access materials on the project website until the comment period closes on May 12.

The VUJ office is office number is (812) 759-4179; Office Hours are every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment.

Comments can be made online here https://midstatescorridor.com/

Here is a link to the draft Purpose and Need Statement: https://midstatescorridor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Combined_Purpose_Need.pdf