Plans moving ahead for I-65 widening in northwestern Indiana
Sun-Times file
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Indiana officials are moving ahead with plans for adding lanes to a stretch of Interstate 65, a heavily traveled route into the Chicago area.
Gov. Mike Pence announced Tuesday that the state expects to spend $70 million on the project that'll widen the highway to three lanes in each direction for at least 13 miles from near U.S. 30 in Merrillville south to the Indiana 2 interchange near Lowell.
The state has had plans for adding lanes to I-65 in northwestern Indiana for the past couple years, with the project once planned in conjunction with the proposed Illiana Expressway linking I-65 and Interstate 55 in Illinois before planning work on the new highway was suspended earlier this year by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Pence said Tuesday that the additional I-65 lanes will help spur development in the Merrillville and Crown Point areas, The (Munster) Times reported.
"We are trying to focus our resources on those areas where we have the most growth," Pence said, adding that the new lanes are expected to be completed by late 2018.
Previous projects have widened the interstate from U.S. 30 to Interstate 80-94 in Gary. Indiana now has construction projects underway adding lanes to I-65 near Lafayette and just south of Indianapolis.
Pence has faced criticism over the condition of Indiana's highways, particularly with the monthlong emergency closure of an I-65 bridge near Lafayette over the summer. Officials blamed pile-driving work for causing the bridge to sink several inches.
The new I-65 project would come from the existing state budget, but the Republican governor in October proposed a $1 billion boost in highway funding over four years that relies on borrowing and drawing down the state's reserves. Legislative Democrats have proposed a competing $2 billion plan, but both suggestions have faced skepticism from Republican leaders in the General Assembly.
Pence said he was working to advance highway projects in "a responsible and aggressive manner," but state Democratic Party spokesman Drew Anderson said Pence was trying to "photo op" his way out of underfunding the state's roads and bridges.