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| INDOT has now
acknowleged the 10 year survey of projects is incorrect. The shortfall is not just 2.1 Billion dollars, it's 6.1 Billion! Bloomington Hoosier Times:
INDOT officials: I-69 needs separate funding Extension of interstate is on state’s projects list, but not cost of building ‘600-pound gorilla’ By Kurt Van der Dussen 331-4372 | kvd@heraldt.com August 3, 2005 SEYMOUR — Look at the provisional 10-year project list the Indiana Department of Transportation discussed at a packed hearing Tuesday, and the Interstate 69 project is prominently on it. But what INDOT officials had to say about it suggests the project is a long way off and will require a totally new funding source in order to be built at all. The viability of the I-69 extension project was raised by John L. Smith of the COUNT US! anti-I-69 group. He told INDOT officials if they have I-69 on their new 10-year project list, the $2.1 billion deficit between the cost of previously planned projects and available funds doubles to more than $4 billion. “Let’s see the actual numbers,” Smith challenged highway officials. You’re totally right, they said. John Weaver, director of long-range planning for INDOT, stressed that the $2.1 billion deficit that has led INDOT to reassess its projects list through 2015 doesn’t include the projected $2.1 billion cost for extending I-69. “I-69 is an issue of its own magnitude that we need to address,” he said, calling it “the 600-pound gorilla on the project list. It is a special animal.” He said INDOT is looking at I-69 separately from any other
project in the state, and is studying how it can be funded apart from
any other project in the state so it doesn’t impact the others. “That makes it really clear what a threat I-69 is to all other projects in the state” funding-wise, Ruff told him. The admission of the uncertain funding status of I-69 led Tom Tokarski, founder of Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, to ask why I-69 is on the 10-year list when INDOT’s old 25-year project list had the project not even starting before 2017. “It was my decision,” Weaver said, explaining he wanted to see I-69’s pros and cons assessed alongside other state projects to see how it shaped up. He explained that INDOT has rated projects based on four broad categories, each with subcategories. They have maximum values of 50 points for transportation efficiency, 25 points for safety, 15 points for economic impact and 10 points for public input, or 100 points in all. I-69 scored 43 of a possible 100 points. The highest project
score for southeastern Indiana’s Seymour District was a 57 for the
planned I-265 bridge over the Ohio River on the northeast side of the
Louisville-Clarksville-Jeffersonville metro area. Looking at the ratings for I-69 shows a major paradox. It scored the maximum 15 points for economic impact — but only two of a possible 20 for cost-effectiveness, the largest single subcategory for rating projects. On a couple of other significant subcategories, it scored six out of a possible 15 for congestion relief, and seven of a possible 10 on “customer input,” i.e. input from the public, local officials and legislators. Asked later if the latter score meant the level of positive input or just the level of input compared with what it could be, INDOT spokesman Gary Abell said it was a mix. He noted that there’s far more positive input from Daviess County south to Evansville than there is in the Bloomington area. State Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, noted the four categories left out something important that INDOT’s past project priorities included. “Nowhere do I see environmental impact and quality of life,” he said, asking if they no longer were factors INDOT considered. “One of the things we’ve struggled with is environmental impact,” Weaver replied. Especially in terms of rating projects statewide, he said, “How do we quantify that? We’re looking for yardsticks to compare Project A with Project B with Project C.” He invited Pierce to provide some quantifiable measure. As for I-69 being on the 10-year list when no funding is there
for it, INDOT spokesman Abell said last week that INDOT hopes to be
able to start it within 10 years, and that’s all its listing suggests. After Tuesday’s meeting, Weaver agreed, saying it indicates
that if funding mechanisms can be found, INDOT would want to start
construction during the 10-year period ending in 2015. |
Why this article is important: An Associated Press version of the Hoosier Times (Bloomington Herald Times) story was published by several newspapers. Most if not all were in the South West region of Indiana. This story is perhaps most important because if INDOT
continues to call for
I-69 funded with "other money" and built "sooner", then the Texas Plan
will need to be understood by Hoosiers, before we become the national
example of personal property rights vs privatization. The "Texas
Plan" should be a talking point for every Hoosier calling for new
protections from the expanded eminent domain powers the Supreme Court
has opened. For a detailed look at the INDOT survey and our analysis click here. But Wait!
Even we understated the budget deficit we have documented. Pat Andrews from MCANA sends a correction to us: **INDOT claimed $4.5 billion in new construction projects over the next decade **INDOT claimed $2.4 billion in anticipated funds over the next decade **INDOT claimed a $2.1 billion funding gap for new construction projects **The REAL total cost of projects in INDOT's LRTP over the next decade total is $6.9 billion **We'll use INDOT's claims of $2.4 billion in anticipated funds over the next decade **Therefore the REAL funding gap for new construction projects is $4.4 billion (numbers don't add up because of rounding) **If they throw in I-69 (Indy to Evansville only) that gap grows to $6.1 billion NONE OF THESE NUMBERS INCLUDE THE 53 NEW PROJECTS
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© COUNT US! 2002 -'03,'04 |
