Half a century after the goal was first conceived, Indianapolis and Evansville are now officially connected via an interstate highway.
In fact, the opening of the interchange of Interstates 69 and 465 at the southwestern tip of Marion County on Tuesday completes the final link from Kentucky to Michigan and ultimately from Mexico to Canada.
“There were a lot of cynics along the way, a lot of doubters that understandably wondered if it would be completed in their lifetimes,” Gov. Eric Holcomb told reporters. “Today we prove that no project is too big.”
Southbound traffic will start to open Tuesday evening and northbound traffic later in the week, “probably toward Friday,” Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Michael Smith said Tuesday.
The roughly $4 billion construction of Interstate 69 between the two cities spanned three Indiana governors ― Republicans Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence and Holcomb ― all of whom attended an opening ceremony at the new interchange Tuesday morning.
There was no shortage of commentary about the doubts and naysayers during the project's long history.
"Welcome to a day some said would never happen ―" Smith told the audience of lawmakers, former administration staffers and construction contractors ― "some of you said would never happen."
The project won't technically be over even when the highway is open in both directions. The Indiana Department of Transportation still plans to add a travel lane to I-465 in each direction on this southwest corner by the end of the year to accommodate anticipated extra traffic from the new interstate connection.
A long history
A Southwest Indiana highway was first contemplated in the 1970s, and the Indiana Department of Transportation would draft many feasibility studies in the following decades. The federal government approved this route in 2004, and construction began in 2008, during Daniels' administration.
What made it possible at the time was a $4 billion deal to lease the Indiana Toll Road to a private company. Daniels put the money toward a host of infrastructure projects, most notably kickstarting the I-69 project.
On Tuesday, Daniels recalled the moment in 2006 in a windowless room when he opened the envelope containing that bid. He said it was one of the top five moments of his life.
"We all instantly saw a whole new future, and I'm not stretching, and when I say I saw this day I didn't know how long it would take, but I saw this day."
I-69 timeline:A historical look at the project from Evansville to Indianapolis
There were plenty of obstacles ahead: Daniels' toll road deal squeaked through the legislature by a two-vote margin. Environmental groups and businesses sued to try to block the highway's planning. But a judge ruled in favor of INDOT, and Daniels later got to sign off on a third milestone, in 2012: The completion of the first three of six sections, from Evansville to U.S. 231, near Crane.
Pence oversaw the completion of the fourth section, from U.S. 231 to Bloomington, in 2015. But he also oversaw a failed public-private partnership that ultimately delayed the project's completion by two years.
Pence didn't mention this hiccup in his remarks, but called the highway a "monument to the determination of the people of Indiana."
"It required patience, determination, vision and unwavering commitment," Pence said.
Pence did not meet with reporters ahead of time, but Holcomb, asked about the prior mishaps, said once Hoosier contractors took over, they "shifted into a different gear." (The project is now three years ahead of the initial schedule.)
"Those things happen," he said. "You got to acknowledge them and you got to deal with them head on. But we made up for lost time."
Holcomb has overseen the opening of the final two sections, from Bloomington to Indianapolis.
The sixth and final leg, from Martinsville to Indianapolis, is projected to cost $2 billion. This was the original cost estimate for the entire highway, from Evansville to Indianapolis, back in 2006.
Daniels told reporters Tuesday cost increases over a long period of time were neither surprising nor unforeseen.
"What Hoosiers should be glad for was we, and really only we, were in a position to deal with that," he said, referring to Indiana's nearly $3 billion in reserves. "Every state has dealt with those cost increases."
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter@kayla_dwyer17.
