Letter: INDOT – Will Common Sense Prevail?

While the decision was made to start the Tier 2 study for the potential future construction of the Mid-States Corridor, using $15 million of taxpayer’s money, I once again must ask – does building a destructive highway project that will cost well over a billion dollars really make sense? Indiana state government has always promoted their fiscal responsibility. How is this fiscally responsible?

An article in the Capital Chronicle recently sited a study by the Local Technical Assistance Program in partnership with the state government and Purdue University that shows a shortfall today of $2.4 billion that is needed to eliminate poorly rated local roads and bridges across the state over the next ten years. In addition, that doesn’t include the money local governments would need to pitch in. Yet INDOT continues to want to build new highways.

If INDOT would use common sense and fix existing alternate roads along with making improvements to US 231 as previously identified instead of succumbing to big business special interests, you would save us taxpayers a lot of dollars and the state could use the funds for other more important needs that better benefit all Hoosiers. What makes the most sense now is to stop the Tier 2 study and work on a plan to improve the roads we already have. There are plenty of alternative existing routes that can be improves and make more sense at a fraction of the cost.

Mark Nowotarski
Dubois County