Letter: Do we really need it?

The time has come to ask a simple question about the proposed Mid-States Corridor: What transportation problem(s) in Dubois, Martin, or Daviess County require spending more than $3 billion on a new highway? After reviewing Indiana Department of Transportation’s (INDOT) own traffic and transportation analyses, I believe the answer is, there isn’t one.

That does not mean Dubois, Martin and Daviess counties have no transportation needs. All roads require maintenance, intersections occasionally need improvement, and some sections of US 231 can benefit from additional capacity and safety improvements. These are legitimate needs that should be addressed.

But those needs are a long way from demonstrating the necessity of a 54-mile, new-terrain highway costing billions of dollars for Section 2 alone.

One of the principal arguments for the Mid-States Corridor is improved “connectivity.” But Dubois, Martin and Daviess County are already very well connected. We have US 231, SR 56, SR 162, I-64, I-69 and reasonable access to I-65. Jasper, Huntingburg and the surrounding communities are not isolated from Indiana’s interstate and highway system.

The question, therefore, isn’t whether the Mid-States Corridor would improve connectivity. Of course, a new four-lane highway would make some trips faster. The question is whether those additional minutes of travel time saved are worth the enormous financial and human cost of constructing it. And, according to INDOT’s own Tier 2 analysis, the answer is far from obvious.

Most US 231 segments in the Jasper and Huntingburg area currently operate at acceptable levels. INDOT’s 2050 “No-Build” analysis also does not predict a transportation crisis. With already-planned improvements, including passing lanes between Huntingburg and Jasper, the existing highway system is projected to operate at acceptable levels on most rural segments.

What is even more telling is that INDOT’s own analysis identifies localized congestion rather than a widespread capacity problem. The U.S. 231/SR 162 intersection presents a legitimate concern, but INDOT indicates that intersection improvements could alleviate the problem for much less than a billion dollars.

Safety doesn’t provide a compelling justification either. INDOT’s own Purpose and Need documentation states that crash indices on U.S. 231 in Dubois, Martin and Daviess counties tend to be lower than crash rates on comparable Indiana highways.

So what remains?

The principal justification is regional connectivity and the economic benefits that supporters believe will result from faster travel and improved freight movement. Those benefits deserve consideration, but so does their price. INDOT must also determine WHO will benefit.

The estimated cost of the 24-mile Section 2 is approximately $1.077 billion, and the entire 54-mile Mid-States Corridor could ultimately cost several billion dollars. Those are enormous sums of public money. Not to mention the possible decade of construction.

We should also remember that economic projections are not guarantees. Models can estimate increased business activity, employment and economic output, but they cannot guarantee that those benefits will actually materialize. Meanwhile, the costs, construction, maintenance, property acquisition, environmental impacts and the opportunity cost, of diverting billions of dollars from other Indiana transportation needs are real.

We should not build a multibillion-dollar highway merely because it would be convenient or because it would save some motorists a few minutes.

Indiana should invest transportation dollars where the need is greatest and where the benefits justify the cost.

If Dubois County’s existing highway network can accommodate the projected traffic with reasonable improvements, and if the primary additional benefit of the Mid-States Corridor is faster regional travel, then Indiana taxpayers deserve a compelling justification before another billion, or several billion dollars, is committed.

This is not opposition to progress. It is a demand for responsible government.

Dubois, Martin and Daviess County are connected. Its transportation system has needs, but those needs do not appear to justify a multibillion-dollar new-terrain highway.

Before Indiana commits billions more, perhaps we should ask the question that should have been asked from the beginning:

Do we really need it?

Jim Arvin
Rutherford Township
Martin County

Editor’s note: Mr. Arvin is not Jim Arvin, the former president of Jasper Desk.