By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

VINCENNES, Ind. — A wider U.S. Highway 231 corridor will be available for use sooner rather than later, as Gov. Mitch Daniels and local and state officials broke ground recently on two additional segments of the highway in Spencer County, Ind.

The $146 million project will improve access between Kentucky and Interstate 64 and help improve the economy in the region, according to Daniels.

“Because, and only because of the Major Moves transaction, our wait for a bigger, better U.S. 231 is over. And because we have the dollars to build it now, it will cost millions less than was expected, and we’ll invest those savings in more roads and more jobs,” he said.

“I’ve spent many, many hours on 231. I know what it will mean to have this road more free-flowing and wider, and it will bring a lot of jobs and progress in its wake.”

Legislation that passed in 2006 created the Major Moves Construction Fund (MMCF), which basically allowed the state to lease the Indiana Toll Road to a private company that took over the day-to-day operations.

The state received a lump sum lease payment of $3.8 billion for the 75-year lease. The money is being used for road construction projects as well as other related infrastructure needs throughout the state.

The original U.S. 231 project estimate came in at nearly $163 million and was to be completed in 2014. Now, because it has been accelerated by three years, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will be able to bring the cost down.

The road is two lanes and once completed, will provide for distribution of products from southwestern Indiana.

The groundbreaking marks the third and fourth phases of the project. Phase five is currently underway at the I-64 interchange.
The first two phases, which started at the Ohio River, were completed between 2006 and winter 2007.

While this and other road projects in the state are moving forward, the idea of the project has been around for quite some time. In 1986, INDOT conducted a study proposing the widening of U.S. 231 from the William Natcher Bridge near Owensboro, Ky., to I-64 in Dale, Ind., as part of the state’s long-range transportation plan.
By 2005, the newly-elected Daniels ordered reviews of all major road projects because of limited funds. Many of those projects, however, have been put on the fast track as revenue has become available through the MMFP.

“I’m not going to tell you it hasn’t been controversial, because it has,” said Jane Jankowski, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, of the Major Moves program.

“There are a lot of people who simply don’t like the idea that a private company is operating the toll road.

“But still, people from Indiana are the employees of that company. It’s allowed us to have a 10-year fully funded transportation plan. This is one of any number of projects that have been on the books for a long time, but the state did not have the money to build them,” she said.

Jankowski also said the funds from the lease have generated approximately $300 million in interest alone over the last couple of years.

“What this corridor will really do is provide a safer highway for people to travel and we’ll have better connections for some of our big industries. Hopefully, this is going to spur growth in southwest Indiana,” she said.

“Anytime that you can improve infrastructure, we think that jobs are going to follow.”

Jankowski added that Indiana is the crossroads of the country and the improved roads are a natural fit for the state, creating new opportunities not only for people in Indiana but also across the river in Kentucky.

Cher Goodwin, the INDOT public information officer for the Vincennes District, said the project will benefit industry and agriculture in the area.

“The economic boom along the Ohio River brought lots of truck traffic to the area, so it was identified many years ago for an upgrade. The biggest factor was to secure the money to make it happen. With the Major Moves program, we will now have $200 million worth of construction projects going on just this summer in southwestern Indiana,” she said.

“This project will also benefit farmers because the area is still rich in farmland. It will make it easier and safer for them to get in and out of their fields and getting their goods to their markets.”
When Major Moves is complete, more than 200 new construction and 200 major highway preservation projects will have been built.