Indiana’s completion of a 16-year highway extension project is a ‘historic milestone,’ governor says

By James On Aug 6, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Tuesday marked the completion of a $4 billion, 142-mile extension of a major interstate highway, calling it a “historic milestone” 16 years after work began on the project.

Holcomb’s two predecessors — former Vice President Mike Pence and former Gov. Mitch Daniels — joined him at a morning ceremony on Indianapolis’ southwest side, hours before the southbound ramps from Interstate 69 to Interstate 465 were set to open to traffic. The northbound ramps are expected to open as early as Friday.

Holcomb called the completion of the 26-mile (42-kilometer) Martinsville-to-Indianapolis segment of the extension a “historic milestone.” It is the final stretch of the 142-mile (229-kilometer) I-69 extension from Evansville to Indianapolis, which began construction in 2008. Some roadway and bridge work will continue in the Indianapolis area for the rest of the year.

Before work began on the extension, I-69 ran from the Canadian border at Port Huron, Michigan, south to Indianapolis. The completion of the latter connection means it now runs continuously from Port Huron to Evansville.

The project included the administrations of Daniels, Pence and Holcomb, all Republicans. The highway, which was built in six segments, faced legal challenges from environmental movements but they could not make the project fail.

“There were a lot of cynics along the way, a lot of doubters who understandably wondered if it would be completed in their lifetime,” Holcomb told reporters on Tuesday. The Indianapolis Star reported. “Today we prove that no project is too big.”

Although work on the southwest Indiana extension began in 2008, construction on the final section, which now runs between Martinsville and Indianapolis, did not begin until 2019.

That final $2 billion effort included upgrading 26 miles of State Road 37 to Interstate standards, adding 10 new interchanges and more than 35 miles of local access roads through Morgan, Johnson and Marion counties.