Mid-States Corridor route recommendation expected by mid-April
Members of the Mid-States Corridor Regional Development Authority (RDA) informed the Huntingburg Common Council an announcement on the preferred route of the proposed multi-lane highway through the county should be coming in April.
RDA chair Mark Schroeder and the RDA’s legal counsel, Bill Kaiser, attended the council meeting to give an update on the Tier I study.
“When we first started this, there were 28 different alternatives and 10 different routes,” Kaiser told the Huntingburg Council. “Then it went down to 10 different alternatives and five routes, which is where we’re at right now. So, within about a month to a month and a half, we’re going to be down to one route that’s going to be announced in April.”
Kaiser ran through the history of the current process which began in 2017 with the formation of the RDA specifically to advocate for improved connectivity in Dubois County. The board is comprised of representatives appointed and approved by the Jasper, Huntingburg and Dubois County councils as well as the Spencer County Council. The boardmembers are Mark Schroeder, Sue Ellspermann, Scott Blazey, David Drake and Ken Mulzer Jr.
In 2018, the RDA entered into an agreement with the Indiana Department of Transportion to conduct the Tier I study. Subsequently, Evansville-based Lochmueller Group was hired to complete the study. Public meetings were held in 2019 and early 2020 after the group announced what routes were being studied.
Schroeder stated that the RDA is a board formed to advocate for an improved north to south connection in the county but has no say in what type or the location of any proposed improvements in regards to the Mid-States Corridor.
The pandemic slowed the Tier I study considerably. Added to this, was the influx of $75 million from INDOT to improve U.S. 231 in 2021.
According to Schroeder, the additional funding was largely due to the Tier I study “…because the study did point out some obvious issues which have existed,” he said.
With that additional money, the Lochmueller Group had to adjust some aspects of their study.
Schroeder explained that the Lochmueller Group has had to work with INDOT and the Federal Highway Administration to incorporate any updates being done to U.S. 231 into the Tier I study and eventual proposal. “That’s really what has delayed it the last four months, five months,” Schroeder said. “We really thought last fall we would be wrapping this up.”
While pointing out the importance of the improved north to south connection, Kaiser said that state officials were surprised by the combined gross domestic production (GDP) of Dubois County and Spencer County — in excess of $4 billion annually — with the lack of appropriate roadways in the area.
Dubois County is the only county in Indiana with that level of GDP without a four-lane north to south highway, Kaiser and Schroeder told the council.
The results of the Tier I study are set to be sent to the Federal Highway Administration for a 30-day review. Any questions and possible revisions will have to be addressed during that time. Afterward, the study will be entered into the Federal Register as a potential project and at that time, the preferred route will be public record. Kaiser said that would hopefully be completed by April 15.
Then at least two public meetings are required to be held. Kaiser said one will be in Dubois County and likely another in an area impacted by the chosen route.
Those meetings will be open to everyone to speak about the Mid-States Corridor. A public comment period will also be held to allow further comments from residents, businesses and even state and federal agencies. The input from these meetings and public comments will then be used to create a 300-foot-wide path for the proposed corridor while taking into account doing the least amount of harm, Kaiser explained.
Clarification: According to Mindy Peterson, spokesperson for the Lochmueller Group, the preferred corridor will be a 2,000-foot corridor and Tier 2 studies will identify specific alignments (300 to 600-foot alignments). The public gatherings this fall will be public hearings, which are just a bit different than meetings with the included in-person comments at the meeting. They also stated April is the target for the DEIS (draft environmental impact statement) to be published but the dates are tentative and could change.
“All of that has to be vetted, discussed … and incorporated into the final plan,” Kaiser said.
That path will then be released later this fall with plans to begin the Tier 2 study which is estimated to take up to two years to complete.
When asked what type of road would be in the plan, Kaiser stated they will not identify that until later. If they identify the type of road they want to build in the early stages of the planning, it will encumber funds to cover the cost of building that type of roadway early on in the process. The type of road will be identified during the second phase of studies and planning.
These studies are a preemptive process to place the proposed corridor in a more favorable position to receive federal funding ahead of other projects that are not as far along in the process, Kaiser told the council.
While not discussed at the meeting, members of the grassroots organization “Stop the Mid- States Corridor Project” have put together a history of past studies and proposed roadway improvement projects. These are available on their Facebook Page.
I believe that I would wait until after the November mid term election to make an announcement. The same people may not be in office that want this highway , just a suggestion
Thanks to all those Republican politicians who’ve forced this upon our region and disregarding many of the concerns!
Oh how prosperous we’ve become, first the C2D plant, and now this mid-state corridor. Both unwanted, but yet, both pushed through thanks to the super majority. Excellent work, all you straight party ticket voters!
There is a huge misconception that politicians are forcing the Mid States Corridor Project. The reality is public safety, the amount of traffic and the fact that the Dubois/Martin counties section of US231 is a Federal highway (the US part of 231 is a clue) and designated a National Defense highway requires the size of road US231 MUST be. Dubois County’s traffic accidents, traffic accident injuries are higher than the state average. Almost all of US231 through the county does not even have an emergency lane to pull a vehicle out of harms way, when it breaks down. This highway is coming, not because politics but because of public safety and traffic numbers. The Regional Development Authority is only offering input, INDOT is making the call on the north/south corridor. In fact it is against the law for a state politician to lobby INDOT on the project. Not one member of the RDA is a politician.
There is only one way to kill this project, reduce the number of accidents and traffic on the highway. Close Kimball, OFS, Jasper Group, Jasper Engine, Meyer Distributing and all the trucks and cars that enter their parking lots, thus reducing the amount of traffic using the highway. Note that the final route is then sent to the Federal Government for review and approval. Politics can’t fix this. Federal Highways have requirements and US231 needs to be brought up to those standards. Not even voting Biden or Trump out of office is going to stop some sort of north/south corridor from being built unless you can miraculously reduce traffic.
Daryl Hensley, Jasper
Your talking about the money for the expansion of 231. Once again you’re wrong.
Daryl, I don’t disagree with your comments. That being said, the gross over statement of what I69 was supposed to alleviate, burns me to no end. What an absolute waste of finances, if the North/ South Corridor was such a certainty as you say.
I69 is a freaking Ghost Highway from 164 to Bloomington. Sad waste of money, private lands and nature.
Safety LOL !! That’s always the go to, give me a break! Also, raw materials and finished products still have to come into town to the factories right ???
INDOT is a joke…look at the genius stoplight put in on 231 in Huntingburg. What engineer thought the way that was set up was a good idea? Pitiful.
This road project was birthed by state legislators in 2017 and it can be ended by state legislators. Any project funded by state dollars (and federal) are subject to the actions of the state legislature, and the Mid States Corridor Project is one that needs to be stopped. Safety is a false flag, much like the claim from the group hired by the Mid States Corridor Project that stated Dubois County would make wild gains in population and add billions of dollars to our local economy. All of which are baseless statements made from manipulated data to justify this road. More relevant are studies that show rural areas and small towns desperately need people; not fast food restaurants, more apartments, or new roads. Any place that has an unemployment rate below 3% as we do now is a warning signal that we do not have enough people here to move in and out of the job market and that is not good for the businesses or the workers in our county.
Our state legislature and local leaders need to focus on solutions for affordable housing, keeping our public schools funded and making sure we are using tax dollars that invest in the people of the county.
Dubois County and southwest Indiana is a wonderful place to live and a place that I have chosen to spend the rest of my years. I hope we can think more about what we can do to make this an even better place for people to live, because when we do that, we will attract people to come here to live and work.
Some people may want this highway, but that doesn’t mean we need it.
I thought distinguishing between wants and needs was one of the first things we learn in kindergarten.
That said every one should be outraged at the idea of a few people taking land, livelihoods, and homes from others against their will, and destroying the public forests, the wetlands, and so many of the things that make life on earth possible, so that those few people can have what their hearts desire. Not to mention, making their tax dollars pay for it, while shuffling the maintenance costs, along with all the inflated interest dollars and a degraded world to future generations.
I was told by INDOT reps, Lochmiller reps, and the RDA, that a NO BUILD option was also on the table. After reading the above article it seems as if thier mind is already made up and this will not be considered. Improvements on 231 are needed, I agree. Perhaps this is all we need done instead of disrupting southern Indianas picturesque beauty and taking homes, land, and livelihoods away from tax paying Hoosiers. From Tell City to Orleans you can see “NO MIDSTATES CORRIDOR” signs up and down the highway. It’s obviously not a popular or well recognized idea.
If a road could not be built because SOMEONE opposed it, there would be no roads, period.
I agree with the one commenter that the no-build wasn’t really an option. There will be a road notwithstanding the massive opposition.
My hope is that those “in charge” advise all affected directly and consequentially indirectly in the most timely manner. And, for God’s sake, show some compassion. This is gonna hurt!
As an aside. Mark, you can tell everyone that RDA does not make the decision but I’ll bet a heck of a lot of money it doesn’t get anywhere close to your house west of Ireland.