INDOT made the logical selection

Some decisions are destined to make people unhappy.
That’s the position the Indiana Department of Transportation was in when it came to deciding upon the best route for the final leg of Interstate 69 between Martinsville and Indianapolis.
No choice INDOT made was going to be universally popular.
In the end, the agency made the decision that seems to be the least-bad and most cost efficient of the choices available.
Going with the Indiana 37 corridor means disruption for businesses and homeowners, but it makes sense in terms of distance between point A and point B and in terms of protecting the environment.
The corridor is already home to a highway. Soon, it will be home to a bigger, more efficient, and safer highway.
Anyone who has driven the Indiana 37 stretch from Indianapolis south toward Bloomington can tell you that it is often an adventure. The traffic load is greater than the existing highway can bear, the at-grade intersections are numerous, and maintaining a constant, safe speed can be a challenge.
Fact is, though INDOT will take its lumps over the decision, this has been talked about, written about, and debated for years.
By choosing the Indiana 37 corridor, INDOT is making the best of a bad situation.
That doesn’t mean it will be cheap. There are as many as 279 houses and 96 businesses that may have to be acquired, depending upon the exact design.
Each of those property owners will receive fair compensation, but there’s going to be some pain involved, emotionally for homeowners and professionally for businesses.
Ultimately, however, this boils down to getting the job done. And getting the job done is well overdue. — J.R.