Road construction ahead. (Regional Report: Southwest).

Road maps of southwest Indiana will take on a new look over the next several years. A number of highway construction projects are under way or in the planning stages.

The project most on the minds of government officials, economic-development specialists and business leaders throughout southwest Indiana is the Interstate 69 corridor between Indianapolis and Evansville.

"We are in the process of a three-year study to determine the I-69 link between Indianapolis and Evansville," says J. Bryan Nicol, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation. "The study includes very detailed analysis of five potential routes. We expect to announce the preferred route by the end of the year."

A number of criteria will be used to determine the final route for I-69. "We'll consider key transportation measures, economic-performance measures and national and international performance measures" says Nicol. "I-69 will be the major connection between Canada and Mexico, so on a national level we have to determine how the corridor ties in and meets freight movement between the three countries."

Other factors that will help determine the I-69 corridor include its impact on jobs and income levels, travel time, accessibility, traffic congestion and safety issues.

Posey County has three major road projects in various stages of construction: the upgrading of State Road 69 to a "super two" highway between Interstate 64 and Mount Vernon; improvements to the westernmost stretch of Interstate 64 from the Griffin exit to the Illinois state line, including rebuilding berms and repaving; and the widening of S.R. 62 through Mount Vernon to ease traffic congestion through the town.

The S.R. 69 project has been constructed in four stages, with the final stage, which begins just north of Mount Vernon and ends just south of New Harmony, scheduled for completion in 2003. Melvin Levin, chairman of the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee, says improvements to S.R. 69 will provide better access from Interstate 64 to the Southwind Maritime Centre on the Ohio River and to Mount Vernon businesses such as General Electric.

Of great concern to Posey County residents, farmers and businesses, as well as to those across the Wabash River in southern Illinois, is the New Harmony bridge, which was scheduled for closing at the end of 2002 due to lack of funding for maintenance. Up to 1,500 cars and farm vehicles cross the bridge each day. At the 11th hour, the White County (Illinois) Bridge Commission was able to obtain $120,000 to keep the bridge operating for another year. Levin estimates that it will take between $25 million and $30 million to build a new bridge at New Harmony, or 10 percent of that to refurbish the current bridge. Legislators in both states are working to secure a more permanent solution, but the bridge's ultimate fate remains uncertain.

Closing the bridge could have fairly serious consequences on business in the area. Doubling the commute time between New Harmony and Crossville, Ill., closing the bridge could deter Illinois farmers from making the trek to Indiana to sell their grain at the Posey County Co-op. Retail traffic coming in from southern Illinois would also likely be negatively affected.

Future plans also call for S.R. 62 to be widened to four lanes west from Boonville to I-64, but the first phase of the project, the section between Boonville and Chandler, has been delayed due to problems with moving utilities from the right of way.

An especially significant pair of projects involves upgrades to U.S. 231 and the highway's soon-to-open Ohio River crossing, the Natcher Bridge. "The impact of those two projects on Spencer County will he enormous," says Gene Steinkamp, who chairs the Spencer County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Construction of the $55 million bridge project began in December 1997, and the bridge is tentatively scheduled to open in August. The 4,510-foot, cable-stayed twin-tower structure crosses the Ohio River between Rockport and Maceo, Ky. While primarily a Kentucky project, Indiana also provided some funding. A river port, one of five along the Ohio River, will be located at the base of the bridge.

Construction of the realignment of U.S. 231 is scheduled to begin later this year. The $120 million project will upgrade the road to four lanes from the Natcher Bridge to I-64 near Dale.

A proposed U.S. 231 bypass around Jasper and Huntingburg is crucial to future economic development in Dubois County, according to Gail Kemp, the mayor of Huntingburg. Three proposed routes are currently under study: one to the west of the two communities, one that runs to the east and a combination route that makes an "S" through both towns. The four-lane bypass will alleviate traffic congestion in both Jasper and Huntingburg.