Editorial: I-69 completion is lesson in perseverance

There was a time when it seemed the Interstate 69 project might never be done. Actually, there was a period when it seemed unlikely to ever get started.

In Mitzi Morris’ story on page 25A, Bob Koch, chairman of Evansville-based Koch Enterprises, recalls advocating for the southern Indiana route some 40 years ago. And even though the northern portion of the route—from Indianapolis north to Fort Wayne and to the Michigan state line—was finished in 1971, it would take another 37 years for construction to begin south of Indianapolis.

This week, the southern route fully opened, with former Govs. Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence and current Gov. Eric Holcomb standing on the highway’s interchange at I-465 to celebrate the achievement.

The I-69 project hasn’t always been popular. Critics have complained the highway would be harmful to the environment, too expensive and hurt the economies of communities along non-interstate routes. Farmers worried that it would gobble up prime agricultural land and divide farms up in ways that would make them difficult to maintain.

The city of Bloomington even urged the state not to bring I-69 through it, even though one of the arguments for the interstate was that it would make travel between Indianapolis and Indiana University much easier.

When Daniels became governor in 2005, he tired quickly of the debate and vowed to get the highway built. Construction then started in 2008, with the first three segments opening in 2012.

Pence and Holcomb continued the work, prioritizing funding for the projects and pushing construction crews to finish as quickly as possible. And although it took 16 years of construction, the project’s last segments seemed to move relatively quickly, which gave Holcomb a chance to open the highway before leaving office at the start of next year.

“We’ve gone from a lot of talk, a lot of conversation, a lot of discussion, multiple studies, to action and dirt-turning, to today,” Holcomb told reporters on Tuesday in advance of the official opening event. “Later today, our visitors and our residents will be able to use something that’s only been dreamt about. There were a lot of cynics along the way, a lot of doubters that understandably wondered if it would be completed in their lifetimes. Today, we proved that no project is too big.”

That’s an attitude we would love to see the state of Indiana embrace more often—and one we should all keep in mind as we seek to tackle problems or projects that seem too complex or too expensive or too hard.

We’re not encouraging public officials to go on spending sprees or jump into projects without due diligence. But debating an idea for decades seems counterproductive.

Congratulations to Daniels, Pence and Holcomb, who made I-69 a reality—and congratulations to the multitudes of business and community leaders who advocated for the project along the way.

Susan Orr writes in a page 1A story that development has already started along some of the newest segments of the highway. Let’s hope we look back decades from now and celebrate again the opening that took place this week.•

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