POLITICS

Bill allowing I-69 to cut through Perry Township heads to Pence

Tony Cook
tony.cook@indystar.com

A bill that would allow I-69 to run through Perry Township along the Ind. 37 corridor is headed to Gov. Mike Pence's desk after the Senate approved it Monday over the objections of lawmakers from that area.

Despite dire warnings about the financial impact on restaurants and other businesses along the heavily commercialized corridor, the Senate voted 31-19 in favor of the bill.

Pence would not say through a spokeswoman Monday whether he plans to sign the measure.

The proposal would replace legislation passed eight years ago that forbade the superhighway from going through Perry Township.

Opponents, including Sen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood, said undoing the ban and allowing construction now would be a disservice to businesses and entrepreneurs who have chosen to locate along the Ind. 37 corridor.

But those who want to allow construction in Perry Township said they are not pushing the Indiana Department of Transportation to pick Ind. 37 as the route; they just want to make it available should INDOT choose it.

The stretch of highway under dispute is the last leg of the 142-mile I-69 extension.

The first three segments — from Evansville to U.S. 231 near Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center — are completed, while the fourth and fifth sections — from Crane through Bloomington to Martinsville — are under construction.

INDOT is studying several possible routes but won't make a decision for more than three years.

Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, who authored a budget amendment in 2006 that stopped the highway from going through Perry Township, has said the route should go through a less populated area that would not uproot as many homes and businesses.

But lawmakers who favor the change have said the current law banning I-69 construction in Perry Township never should have been allowed in the first place. It's not the legislature's job to determine where roads should go, they say.

Star reporter John Tuohy contributed to this story.

Call Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.