Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11 — 1.1MB)
Indiana transportation officials have announced another change to the Interstate 69 construction schedule.
In today’s announcement, the Indiana Finance Authority and the Indiana Department of Transportation said they expect Section 5 of the interstate to be completed by May of 2018. That’s seven months later than the date they announced in December; but it’s also three months earlier than the date announced last month.
Section 5 extends from Bloomington to Martinsville. The delays come after funding problems and disputes with contractors last year. Bloomington Mayor, John Hamilton, issued a statement this afternoon saying he hopes this will be the final announcement of a construction delay.
Hamilton said “Another delay means for us another winter and spring of difficult travel, lost productivity and danger.”
Today’s statement is only the most recent in a line of similar announcements. When the state first signed a contract with the private companies responsible for building the road, the project was projected to be finished by the end of 2016.