Major Moves in the Fast Lane in Spencer County

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels stepped off of his RV in Dale, Indiana Thursday afternoon to greet about 200 onlookers eager to hear the news first hand: US 231 in Spencer County is being constructed faster than anyone predicted. The project to construct a new terrain US 231 from the Ohio River at Rockport all the way to Crane Navel Weapons Center in Martin County began in May of 2003. There are a total of six phases covering 22 miles in Spencer County that link the Natcher Bridge to I-64 at Dale. It is this phase that is moving along almost 2 years ahead of schedule. Project engineers say round the clock work is helping the move construction forward. That work is also saving the state about $4.6 million. That is cash that will go back into state coffers for more road projects, and a big reason Governor Daniels is so excited about the news. The last phases of the project in Spencer County have been paid for with funds from Major Moves, the Governors road building plan funded with lease money from the Indiana Toll Road. Since Major Moves was approved by the Indiana General Assembly in 2006, Governor Daniels has touted it as not just a road building blitz, but a job generating tool. Some 70 employees are working full time on the 231 project in Spencer County. "The sooner we get this road built, the sooner Hoosiers will benefit from the economic opportunity it provides," Daniels said in a press release. "Its a key north-south corridor connecting major rail hubs and Ohio River ports. This kind of multi-modal network means growth and jobs." If construction continues at the current speed, the Spencer County segment should be finished in 2009. Plans for the next phase of 231 will be drawn up in 2008. That will take the highway from I-64 at Dale to the northern edge of Jasper in Dubois County.