O'Bannon to reveal I-69 extension soon

Evansville, January 2, 2003 (AP) - Governor Frank O'Bannon is reviewing a recommendation from state highway officials on the route for the Interstate 69 extension through southwestern Indiana and could make an announcement any day.

The Indiana Department of Transportation provided O'Bannon with the recommendation along with other alternatives, governor's office spokeswoman Mary Dieter said Thursday.

O'Bannon hopes to make an announcement of the decision before he gives his annual State of the State address to the legislature on January 14, Dieter said.

O'Bannon has watched closely in recent years as the highway Department studied and conducted public hearings on proposed routes for the interstate extension that would link Indianapolis and Evansville, Dieter said.

Transportation Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol "has personally apprised the governor every step of the way," Dieter said.

Dieter said she did not know which route was recommended to O'Bannon.

Nicol on Thursday referred questions about O'Bannon's role in the decision to Dieter.

"Obviously, he's my boss and I would think it's fair to say he's going to be involved in the decision," Nicol said. "Ultimately, it's his call."

The I-69 extension is planned as part of the "NAFTA Superhighway" through the central United States that would link Canada and Mexico.

The debate in recent months in Indiana has centered on whether a mostly new highway should be built or whether the extension should follow the existing four-lane U.S. 41 north from Evansville to Terre Haute and then east on I-70 to Indianapolis.

Civic leaders in Evansville want a direct route between the two cities, saying concerns raised by environmentalists about damage to forests and farmland would be balanced by safer roads and economic development.

Although the U.S 41/I-70 route is the cheapest to build, it is tghe longest of the 12 corridors studied by the state.

The transportation department was criticized after the U.S. 41/I-70 route was not included among the five route finalists it named in July. Transportation officials said it did not improve travel time or spur economic development as much as the more direct routes.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)