Mid-States Corridor begins Dubois County study

DUBOIS COUNTY, Ind. (WEHT) – It has been a highly-debated project for years, but the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has given the green light to the Mid-States Corridor to begin a tier 2 study starting in Dubois County. Residents within the 2,000 feet wide corridor will receive letters indicating crews will be on their property to begin land surveys in the tier 2 section.

“We look very closely at the existing environment, we look at usages, we’ll be talking to the community about how they travel to the places that are important to them,” explains Nicole Minton, Project Outreach Coordinator with the Lochmueller Group.

This 24 mile stretch in section 2 begins at the Dubois-Spencer county line, bypassing the cities of Huntingburg and Jasper to the east, continuing to the town of Haysville to the north. While hundreds of property owners are included in this zone, Minton says the impact will be fairly small.

“For most people, it might be a knock at the door,” says Minton. “When they get the letter, they’ll fill out the survey form and give us some more information.”

“What about the people that aren’t technically affected by it, but if the road goes in, they’ll either be looking at their backyard or their front yard and it’ll be right there,” asks Mark Nowotarski, a concerned Dubois County resident with the Stop The Mid-States Corridor Coalition. Nowotarski, along with Teresa Kendall, say they are not opposed to economic development, but are skeptical of the highway’s benefits.

“What they did to expand the highway (U.S. 231) from I-64 to the bridge in Owensboro. Okay, what have you seen there? You’ve seen a Dollar General go up. Nothing else,” says Nowotarski. “We have no input on this other than you can submit something, and it’s dismissed,” adds Kendall. “It’s as if we’re just kind of spitting in the wind.”

While the earliest potential construction is still many years away, those against the corridor plan to keep fighting. “The big word now is ‘No’,” says Kendall. “No, you’re not coming through. No, you’re not going to survey our land. No, you’re not going to be able to set foot on our land, and no we will not, not sell to the state. It’s not going to happen.”

Officials with the Mid-States Corridor say this particular section of the tier two study in Dubois County will take up to 3 years to complete.

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