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Last updated on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
(UNDATED) - Indiana Department of Transportation officials are praising the work done ahead of schedule for the first phases of the I-69 extension project through southwest Indiana.
INDOT says crews are also working on the last two sections of the interstate highway, the sections that will complete the highway from Bloomington to Indianapolis.
INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield says sections 1, 2, and 3 from Evansville to Crane are ahead of schedule, under budget, and will most likely be ready to open for traffic by mid-November.
The majority of the work so far has been paid for with Major Moves money from the lease of the Indiana Toll Road.
Wingfield also says the entire I-69 project was never intended to be paid for with Major Moves money. He says INDOT has been able to save money on the Evansville to Crane sections by having asphalt and concrete companies compete for the work.
State officials had considered a toll on I-69 in southwest Indiana as an option to fund the project but abandoned that idea back in 2006 following a feasibility study.
Wingfield says INDOT will approach the funding for the remainder of I-69 as they would any other road project.
The first step will be to determine how much of State Road 37 will be used and updated to interstate quality.
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