Letter: Mid-States Corridor for all the citizens of Dubois County

For all of us who drive on Highway 231, it is clear that we have a traffic problem with the large number of semi-tractor-trailers and the increasing daily vehicle traffic. This traffic issue can be resolved with the construction of the Corridor.

The Corridor is for all of the citizens of Dubois County. Perhaps, most importantly, the Corridor will provide substantial time savings for not only those of us who are driving within Dubois County, but also for the many people who are coming to Dubois County to work and shop and those of us who are trying to reach our destinations outside of the County. All of us have experienced wasted time stuck in long lines of traffic. Time which would have been better spent with our families or at our jobs. Yes, the time savings may range from one minute to fifteen minutes per trip, but think of the number of trips you make to your job each week, each month, each year.

The Corridor could give back to you days and weeks of time that could be better spent with your family and not stuck in your car frustrated by traffic congestion.

The Corridor also will mean better safety for all of us driving on Highway 231. First, the Corridor will remove up to 80% of the heavy truck traffic off of the current Highway 231 and onto the Corridor. That fact alone is extremely important to all of us and our families who want to be able to drive safely on Highway 231. Additionally, for those drivers who will use the Corridor on a daily basis to get to our jobs or get to other locations outside of Dubois County, a divided four-lane road generally reduces traffic accidents by fifty percent over a two-lane roadway.

Finally, although it has not been significantly raised as an issue, the thousands of cars, trucks, and semis that are idling in the middle of our communities are impacting the health of our communities. It has been identified that as much as 50% of the vehicle traffic on Highway 231 could be relocated to the Corridor after it is built. The ability to have up to 10,000 vehicles relocated outside of our communities will also have a significant beneficial health impact to our communities and all of us as citizens.

I wanted to make sure that the positive impacts of the Corridor are also made clear to all of us as citizens of Dubois County.

Lastly, I sympathize with the landowners who will be sacrificing some part of their land for the construction of the Corridor, but there is not a road that we drive on today that did not require some prior landowner to make the same sacrifice…for the good of our community and the future of our children and grandchildren.

Hank Menke
President / CEO
OFS Brands