BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Bloomington’s mayor says the lead contractor for the Interstate 69 extension segment that will link Bloomington and Martinsville has told local officials that section might not open until late 2018.
Mayor John Hamilton said Isolux Corsan LLC, the private company overseeing the project’s design and construction, told local officials Tuesday that the segment’s earliest possible completion date is August 2018. That’s nearly two years later than the original planned opening date of October 2016.
Indiana Finance Authority spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland told The Herald-Times (https://bit.ly/2ksfFuv ) that October 2017 remains the 22-mile section’s official completion date, and any update to that timetable would come from the finance authority.
“I’m just exceedingly frustrated with the approach to this project,” Hamilton said.
He said he has doubted the timeline because the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization policy committee still hasn’t received a schedule it was promised back in October.
“Well, if you can’t get us a schedule in three months, I don’t know how you’ll get a road done in one year,” Hamilton said, referring to the delay.
Hamilton said the public has been suffering the consequences of the delays, which have brought longer commutes and potentially dangerous driving conditions.
Hamilton said local government officials can’t make informed decisions on issues such as how to deal with bridge closures and the possibility of more winter storms without facts or a real plan for completion.
“I don’t know what I can do, as mayor,” he said.
Hamilton said he plans to ask for a meeting with Gov. Eric Holcomb or staff from the Indiana Department of Transportation and the authority.
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Information from: The Herald Times, https://www.heraldtimesonline.com
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