Alliance touts benefits of I-69 project

The benefits of Interstate 69 were brought home Thursday when I-69 Industry Alliance President Kent Waide announced a large Mexican freight company had signed an agreement with Carhartt, a large workwear and outdoor apparel manufacturer with a Madisonville plant.

Waide said the agreement between Carhartt and Potosinos, "the UPS of Mexico," is an example how Hopkins County is uniquely located to become a transportation hub. Not only will I-69 directly link Mexico and Canada, but Hopkins County is also centrally located between UPS in Louisville and FedEx in Memphis.

Also at Thursday's meeting of the alliance, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's project manager for the I-69 Ohio River crossing gave a report on the plan's status.

Marshall Carrier said it's important for the public to understand the how the existing U.S. 41 twin bridges are a factor in I-69 project. As long as the twin bridges exist, they will have a financial impact, Carrier said, because of the expense of maintaining them. There are those who want the twin bridges, or at least one of them, to remain open to provide a low- or no-toll way to cross the river.

Tolls on the new I-69 bridge are expected to cover about 40 percent of the $800 million to $1 billion cost of the project. State and perhaps federal funding will cover a portion of the remaining 60 percent, Carrier said, but that leaves a funding "gap." The fate of the twin bridges will play a role in how big that gap is.

Carrier said $50 million dollars has been spent in the past 10 years, including the current work being done, on the twin bridges. Both are old; one as built 80 years ago and the other was built 50 years ago. The average lifespan of such bridges is 75 to 80 years, although it's possible to extend that.

Three possible corridors have been identified for completing the "missing link" between I-69 in Indiana and the interstate in Kentucky. Two of those corridors pass through Henderson where the existing U.S. 41 now runs. The third option is slightly to the east, and bypasses Henderson.

The timeline Carrier presented has open houses being held to discuss progress on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, with a preferred routes chosen and the DEIS completed by Fall 2018. Public hearings would be held and then the final EIS would be issued in Fall 2019, along with a Record of Decision. Construction could then start in two or three years after that, he said.

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