Letter: Stand up to be counted against Mid-States Corridor

On July 23, The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) gave the Mid-States Corridor Project Team at the Lochmueller Group notice to proceed with the study of the Dubois County portion (identified as Section of Independent Utility 2) of the Tier 2 study. This section’s study is expected to take up to three years. The Tier 2 study will narrow down the 2,000-foot-wide section to 200 to 500 feet along its 24-mile path through Dubois County. Minton, the project’s spokesperson, said the corridor would not likely move out of the identified path from the Tier 1 study since it was the federally approved path.

Though many questions remain unanswered, one big question is why is the Indiana Department of Transportation in favor of the “Mike Braun/Mark Messmer Mid-States Corridor” when the Department is also funding a portion of I-69–a highway that is planned to run from the Canadian border to Mexico for which the bridge portion has been in the works for decades and is just now being built.

Does INDOT really think we need two long-distance north/south highways that are only 20 miles apart?

For over 40 years and several taxpayer-funded studies, the people of Southern Indiana have fought both of these highways with overwhelming public support for no new terrain interstate, and things are no different now that Braun and Messmer connived to add their version to the long-distance highway list. I encourage everyone to stand up for our homes and our communities by opposing this completely unnecessary highway.

Clearly, the proposed Mid-States-Corridor is not needed or wanted, especially since it would not end the traffic along the existing US 231 highway. Nor would significant effects be confined to the area the corridor traffic would pass through. In addition, it would not be shorter or safer for most people in the communities which it bypasses. These “needs” are simply biased desires of the instigators.

An old friend once said, “Stand up and be counted, or lay down in fear and be run over.” We can ALL stand up to protect our homes and our communities as we continue to stand firm. We must demand a common-sense FIX THE ROADS WE HAVE alternative! And we can ALL do our best to vote to keep the mercenary politicians out of office.

Sincerely
Jeanne Melchior
Jasper, Indiana