First Stretch of Long-Awaited I-69 Opens in Indiana

Gov. Mitch Daniels and several federal and state officials held an opening ceremony last week for what the Federal Highway Administration said has been the longest contiguous new interstate construction project in the country.

The I-69 corridor will eventually run 142 miles from Evansville to Indianapolis. The initial stretch runs from northeast of Evansville at I-64 to the U.S. 231 interchange near Crane.

The initial stretch cost about $900 million, most of which was paid for by the state’s lease of the Indiana Toll Road to a private consortium in 2006.

The total cost of building the highway between Evansville and Indianapolis will be about $3 billion.