I-69 Extension Project Delayed Again

IEDC President Jim Schellinger says the I-69 expansion project was a key factor in attracting the company.

The portion of the I-69 extension project, connecting Bloomington to Martinsville, is once again being delayed. The Indiana Finance Authority and the Indiana Department of Transportation have signed a memorandum of understanding with the project’s developer to complete the project by May 2018.

The MOU with I-69 Development Partners LLC and other contractors also sets a schedule to have four lanes of traffic open through the greater Bloomington area beginning August 15. The updated schedule includes: 

• Four lanes of traffic, two northbound and two southbound, to be continuously open through the greater Bloomington area beginning on Aug. 15, 2017.
• Four lanes will be open from Sample Road to Martinsville for student move-in and home football and basketball games beginning Aug. 15, 2017.
• The section north of Sample Road to Martinsville also will open to four lanes of traffic continuously no later than March 31, 2018.
• Completion of Section 5 by May 31, 2018.

"This schedule enables six-lane construction to continue to the new completion date," said Dan Huge, public finance director of the Indiana Finance Authority. "It also aligns with the necessary funding to cover the milestones we need to achieve to complete the project to the standard and quality the people of the state expect."

I-69 Development Partners, along with design-build contractor Isolux Corsan, will also invest an additional $75 million into the project. The developer will also forgo the first annual payment it would have received for operating and maintaining the extension upon completion. That payment will be converted into an additional payment to be made during construction.

The IFA says the new arrangement will not increase the overall cost of the project to the state. The MOU must still be approved by I-69 Development Partners’ bondholders, at which point the public-private agreement between the developer and the state will be amended.

You can view the full Memorandum of Understanding below.

This is the latest delay for the project, which was originally scheduled for completion in October 2016. Last April, INDOT said the project would be delayed until late June 2017. In September, the project saw more delays after I-69 Development Partners received a notice of non-performance from the state.