Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s $200 million Link 101 road endeavor isn’t moving forward, at least in its original form, following a gloomy cost-benefit analysis and sustained public pushback.
The Indiana Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it had pulled the plug on the project—meant to better connect southeastern Indiana—after it finished evaluating alternative options.
“The milestone marked a logical point to reevaluate this project,” the agency said in a news release, noting that it “continuously reevaluates” its priorities.
The project would’ve created a new state road—101—going north-south between U.S. 50 and the Markland Dam Bridge on the Ohio River.
Opponents of the project celebrated the news.
Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, said Thursday she was “pleased” to learn INDOT “listened to my concerns as well as those of community members and canceled the Link 101 Corridor Project.”
She first publicly called for the project’s cancellation in March, saying at the time, “While I have tried to remain open-minded on the matter, I stand with the many constituents who have reached out to express their concerns about how the project will impact our communities and their quality of life.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour, a conservative activist, said the project was an example of “overreach and poor planning.”
“They wanted to build a highway that was estimated at $200 million to save 6 to 8 minutes of travel. That highway was targeting a rich area of Indiana land, taking over generational farms and homesteads, and clearly had no support from the people,” Reitenour said in a Wednesday news release.
“When I met with the hard-working residents that have protested for months against this highway, they were distraught and discouraged, but they were not going to give up! I applaud their Hoosier resolve!” she added.
Agency’s next steps
INDOT cited ballooning construction costs as a primary reason for the cancellation: past $450 million, up sharply from the original $200 million estimate announced in 2021. The agency said rising material and labor costs was a factor, as well as “challenging terrain.”
The agency indicated that the pricey project wouldn’t have gotten enough use, noting, “lower traffic volumes limit total benefits to users.”
“There has also been widespread opposition voiced to the project, both in public meetings and through project communication channels,” the agency went on to acknowledge.
Instead, INDOT said it would prioritize existing roads in the area.
That could take the form of Alternatives K or L, two other takes on the project featured in an April 2024 Preliminary Alternatives Screening report.
The second would only run along existing state highways, with no new roads, mostly at a 45 mile-per-hour limit; areas with higher limits would stay that way. Most of the route already has four-foot shoulders; INDOT would widen one area to add space for the shoulders and reconstruct a one-mile chunk of State Road 129 where “the existing alignment cannot be rehabilitated” to a 45 mile-per-hour limit.
Both were developed based on public input to “reduce impacts to the rural setting of the project area,” according to the report.
INDOT said it would reprioritize the money allocated to the project “statewide, including in southeastern Indiana.”
Leising said she hoped the agency would “reconsider” and use the funds exclusively to improve existing infrastructure in the area.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
A compelling case for modifying the road funding formula to allocate less money to INDOT and more money to local governments.
Because it sure seems like INDOT has lots of money to spend on questionable projects while local governments can’t maintain their roads …
Another such waste of money would be the “Mike Braun Highway”, the upgraded-to-interstate-standards and new-terrain US231 from Owensboro KY through Jasper up to I-69, almost certainly including another new Ohio River bridge that Hoosier taxpayers would fund (despite the fact that Kentucky owns the whole river).
Nonsense.
If any of the Indiana’s northern Yankees have ever driven the corridor, especially through both Huntingburg and Jasper, they will quickly realize that today’s corridor is inadequate. It greatly negatively impacts southern Indiana’s Industrial Development, as well as the nation’s defense readiness. Jasper and Huntingburg industries need better highway ensuring improved market access for both finished and raw materials.
Rest assure, that many other competing states & communities, as well countries (Mexico) are “hitting on” southern Indiana’s existing industries, presenting them with improved site “relocation” opportunities. Indiana very well could lose these much needed industries to competing states, taking with them thousands of well paying jobs and tax revenue streams.
The world’s 3rd largest Naval Base Crane, Indiana needs access to corridor that can rapidly transport defense materials, components, and supplies to needed locations. NWS Crane – Purdue University’s West Gate Industrial Park requires improved highways in to order to continue attaching its new tenants such its chip production facility. Also the installation is modernizing and upgrading, which will result in increased outside contracting opportunities for the state, as well increasing its operating volumes.
Kentucky has upgraded its toll roads to national & international interstate standards. Other competing states and logistics firms view the situation as a new Kentucky interstate that dumps into a Hoosier buffalo trail upgraded to gravel road…”not ready for prime time”.
How in helium does Indiana ever expect to both retain and attract its southern Indiana industrial base without solid infrastructures? It can’t.
Also this situation sends a very clear global & national message that Kentucky has “BETTER HIGHWAYS” than “want to be” & “second fiddle” Indiana. Kentucky is building not 1 but 2 Ohio River BILLION DOLLAR Interstate bridges, as well completely rebuilding its 1-65 downtown Louisville Corridors. Indiana can’t even build a $200 million much needed highway improvement project to connect with its International NAFTA Interstate 69. BTW Mexico has now replaced China as the nation’s largest importer. This highway is much need and will have to be constructed so or later. If it is later, its cost will double, triple or even more, than today’s cost.
In summary, communities are either growing or are dying. It appears that south western Indiana seeks to die.
Bless its hearts.
Bless your heart. Crane HAS I-69 already and it is part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. And I-69 connects it directly to Fort Campbell, KY. And I-69 to I-65 connects it to Purdue.
And Kentucky hasn’t built its first Ohio River bridge…Indiana paid for both of them by Louisville, and we are probably on the hook for the new I-69 bridge at Evansville as well.
The lack of workforce affects our prospects far more than refusing to build new highways over upgrading what we have.
Our lack of a properly-educated workforce. (Fixed it for you.)
See David Ricks (Lilly CEO) and Michael Hicks (BSU distinguished professor of economics) comments. But I suppose they are just a couple more Yankees ignorant of the Kentuckiana culture of Southern Indiana…
Oh yeah, Louisville?
Get back to me when they’re smart enough to tear out the downtown interstate (I-64?) they’ve allowed to remain on their Ohio River waterfront.
All that potential real estate for development … and the best use of the land for them is through traffic. How foolish.
The sooner people realize that interstates are useful for getting people TO your downtown, not THROUGH your downtown, the better.
Those Kentucky bridges connect to…..Indiana. Not sure how your logic works, but for this Hoosier taxpayer, any bridge to Kentucky that costs us nothing, is a bargain. Face it–the Braun highway is a boondoggle. As for your Mexico-China claims–do you consider facts when you start an online conversation? This graphic might help you–and remember, Google can be your friend. (Correct answer for No.1: Canada). https://ustr.gov/countries-regions#:~:text=Canada%20was%20the%20largest%20purchaser,United%20Kingdom%20(%2476.2%20billion).
Chris B. Nope! “It is blessed your feeble-minded little heart”.
Having a northern connection with I-69 is fine,” if confronted with a Great Lake Stern Wheeler or Mississippi River ironclad situation. FYI Both Chicago, and Fort Campell are not home ports to any operating Naval vessels nor Marine Activities.
Crane Naval Weapons Station supply’s its materials to its Marine and Naval forces to many east coast DOD facilities including:
The Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia and neighboring installations including Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Virginia.
The Charleston, South Carolina Naval Base
Camp Lejeune, South Carolina USMC facility.
The Submarine Naval Base, New Brunswick, Georgia
The Naval Station Jacksonville, Florida and neighboring installations.
as well as others.
Getting needed military logistical and supply provisions “to needed operating platforms in timely manner is critical”. Moving military provisions “hundreds of miles on out of ways corridors” and-or on “upgraded buffalo trails” is not effective, nor timely. It is actually WASTEFUL as well DETRIMENTAL for Readiness purposes.
Rick S is correct. It is the Kentucky DOT that is building both the I-75 Cincinnati Bridge, and the I-69 Evansville Bridge. Also, it is KYDOT that is rebuilding the I-64 New Albany Bridge. It was also KYDOT that built the additional I-65 bridge downtown to Clarksville as well the I-265 bridge to Jeffersonville. KYDOT is at the same time rebuilding its 5 miles of I-65 from the Kennedy Ohio River Bridge(s) to its airport, as well as rebuilding its Gene Synder Outer Loop Interstate Corridor.
These are all over Billion-dollar projects. Source INDOT & KYDOT. These funds are coming from Biden’s $2 TRILLION much need biapartism infrastructure funding programs. Indiana can’t even find enough for a $200 million for a much-needed minor project to enhance its nation’s defense systems? Indiana can’t find a way to get a misery $200 million out of a $2 trillion program??????
Boondoggle?????? So, you actually believe that your state’s – Indiana Department of Transportation, with the highly global respected Purdue Engineering School resources “CAN NOT COST EFFECTIVELY AND TIMELY MANAGE A MINOR $200 MILLION INFRASTRURE PROJECT?????? That is exactly the very clear and very understandable message being send from Indianapolis.
Rick S is also correct about today’s and tomorrow’s international trade corridors. Canada was the largest purchaser of U.S. goods exports in 2022, accounting for 17.3 percent of total U.S. goods exports. The top five purchasers of U.S. goods exports in 2022 were: Canada ($356.5 billion), Mexico ($324.3 billion), China ($150.4 billion), Japan ($80.2 billion), and the United Kingdom ($76.2 billion). Mexico is rapidly becoming its own global internation financial powerhouse giant.
Again, in summary, communities, as well as individuals are either growing or are dying. It appears that you wish to die and take south-western Indiana with you. Bless your northern Yankee Indiana heart and RIP.