Stanford woman says I-69 is a bad idea for many reasons

To the Editor:

Despite the loss of the first 1.8 miles of Indiana farmland to I-69, opposition to this wasteful project is steadfast.

Our highway system is not designed to support $100 per barrel oil and the cost of highway construction has skyrocketed. Realistic cost estimates for I-69 are nearly double original estimates. I-69 continues to drain funding from worthy transportation projects around the state.

There is no guaranteed source of funding for I-69 beyond the $700 million from the long-term lease of the Indiana Toll Road. Gov. Daniels advocates "creative financing" to fund I-69. "Creative funding" is political-speak for private toll roads.

The I-69 project is listed in the federal "Corridors of the Future" program. Private tolling is given as the most likely funding mechanism for these projects.

Hoosiers want our highways and bridges to continue to be a public resource. We do not want to give control of them to corporations which are motivated by profits, not by public service. We do not want to pay by the mile as well as by the gallon.

I-69 is a bad idea for many reasons. Making it a toll road is like changing citizens to jump off a cliff.

It is time to repair and upgrade our existing highways and bridges and to drop the new terrain I-69.

Sandra Tokarski

Stanford, Ind.