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After 16 years of construction, the full stretch of Interstate 69 from Evansville to Indianapolis opened to traffic in August.
The final portion of the 150-mile project was completed with the opening of a newly built interchange linking I-69 and I-465.
Gov. Eric Holcomb and his two predecessors, former Govs. Mike Pence and Mitch Daniels, gathered at the interchange for a public celebration to mark the occasion.
Daniels was governor when construction on I-69 started in Evansville in July 2008. Pence was in office when the fourth section of the project opened in 2015 between the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, and Bloomington—creating the first-ever direct highway link between Evansville and Bloomington.
Local developers, economic development leaders and public officials predict that the project will bring significant development to central Indiana, particularly in Morgan and Johnson counties where large tracts of land along the route remain undeveloped.
Two major projects are already in the works at the I-69/State Road 144 interchange, which opened last year in Johnson County just east of the Morgan County line.
Just east of I-69 and south of S.R. 144, Aditi Real Estate 57 LLC is planning a 150-acre mixed-use development called White River Crossing. And just west of I-69, Fishers-based developer Meyer Najem is planning an 89-acre development it’s calling the Whetzel Trace Ag/Life Sciences Park.•
Check out more year-in-review stories from 2024.
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