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Last updated on Tuesday, January 7, 2014
(UNDATED) - Interstate 69 construction reached the tip of Monroe County in 2013 and this year will dive into Bloomington.
INDOT Transportation spokesman Will Wingfield says it is still unknown when Section 4, which stretches from U.S. 231 in Greene County to Ind. 37 in Monroe County, will be open to motorists, but it could be in late 2014.
Wingfield says paving the 27-mile portion of the interstate will consume most of the construction. Crews are currently working on bridges in several areas.
INDOT spokeswoman Cher Elliott says heavy rains and winter weather conditions have caused some delays.
Erosion and lack of runoff control have been frequent complaints from residents near Section 4 construction, and Wingfield says controlling those issues will be a focus for Section 5 construction, which should start this year.
Wingfield says Section 5, which includes 21 miles on the Ind 37 corridor from the south of Bloomington to the southern edge of Martinsville, will require less earth movement because crews are converting an existing roadway. A majority of the earth-moving work will be in areas where there will be new interchanges, because the ground will have to be raised.
Proposals for the long- anticipated and debated $394 million project are due this month and a winning contractor team should be selected by March. It's unknown when exactly construction would begin.
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