 http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2005/08/14/digitalcity.0814-SH-A14_RSZ29083.sto?lin Misconceptions mark Ind. 37-to-I-69 remark Opinion August 14, 2005 In the wake of the public hearing on the Section 5 section on Interstate 69 from Victor Pike north through Bloomington to Martinsville, some misconceptions seem to be spreading. In some cases, we think it's honest misinformation. In other cases, we have to wonder whether it may rise to the level of disinformation intended to mislead and frighten people. We've heard it expressed both in a claim in a letter to the editor and in callers on WGCL's "Afternoon Edition" call-in talk show. It goes like this: I-69 through Bloomington is going to be an elevated highway with 12 traffic lanes. Or its variant: I-69 through Bloomington is going to be 12 lanes wide, with eight travel lanes bordered by two lanes for local traffic on each side. This did not sound right to us. So we consulted Wendy Vachet, the manager of the planning process for the Section 5 I-69 project office in Bloomington's One City Center. Vachet has heard the same thing, repeatedly. And to get swiftly to the point, she said it is false. But she thinks she knows what's causing it. When I-69 was in the "Tier 1" planning stage to select the
initial 2,000-foot-wide corridor, the report for that includes an
appendix with all sorts of stuff in it. For the stretch through
Bloomington classified as "urban," she said, the appendix included a
description for a potential 12-traffic-lane elevated highway. But she
stressed that is not required and would be overbuilding on a massive
scale. Now, the Indiana Department of Transportation, she said, does not want to "underbuild" the highway, and if anything, prefers to "overbuild" it for the sake of the future. In terms of what that means, she said what definitely is planned is that rural portions will have three 12-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction. There also will be 12-foot shoulders on both the highway edge and the median edge, with a median down the center. That means the pavement width on each side would be 60 feet, or 120 feet total. In terms of the urban area through Bloomington, she said her office is leaning toward two options. • Have two 12-foot through-traffic lanes and two local-traffic lanes in each direction. Both the travel lanes and the local lanes would have a 12-foot shoulder on each side, with a barrier dividing the local and travel lanes. • Have four travel lanes in each direction with a 12-foot shoulder on each side, or 12 lanes of pavement, eight for traffic and four for pull-offs. In either case, she said the existing overpasses for West Third St. (Ind. 48) and West Second Street (Ind. 45) will have to be rebuilt. So will the Indiana Rail Road overpass between them. And the current channel through which Ind. 37 now runs will need at least some widening. But no, there will not be an elevated eyesore of a highway with 12 traffic-moving lanes, she said. There. Now you have it. Bloomington H-T Opinion boarders on Libel COUNT US! has been offended by this Opinion that we have learned was composed by Kurt VanderDussen. We have exchanged a number of E-mails regarding this article that borders on liable of our character. Many in our community have stated that we were quickly recognized as the subject of this attack on our truthfulness and motivations. We have thus far recieved this statement from the Editor of The Bloomington Herald Times (known on the web as Hoosier Times. Com) Bob Zaltsberg wrote: "I believe you are trying to offer accurate information on your Web site. I |
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