Proponents may get wish for completion of Interstate 69 eventually – Monday, 08/08/05 — Interstate 69? You’re kidding me, right? And the comment that it’s “dual purposed” is a joke too, right? Or have they gone completely nuts in Washington?
That does it. I’m going to start selling T-Shirts on the site that promote the 69 Highway. Geez.
Today, I-69 is a short ribbon that starts at the Canadian border at Port Huron, Mich., and ends in Indianapolis.
But since the 1990s, a powerful group of proponents have envisioned it running down the Mississippi River to Memphis, then heading south into Arkansas and Louisiana, and then finally through Texas to the Mexican border.
Proponents include House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas (where 1,000 miles of I-69 are slated) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee.
They helped get hundreds of millions of dollars for the project into the six-year federal highway bill, which President Bush is expected to sign Wednesday.
Even lawmakers aren’t sure of the exact total of I-69 earmarks, some of which are dual-purposed with other projects.
related link:
I-69 Texas
I-69 T-Shirts already sell well at the campus of Ball State in Muncie, IN (just off I-69 in Northeastern Indiana).
As for the “NAFTA Highway”, there are a lot of opponents to the planned route in Indiana, as it plows under a lot of farmland (no pun intended). Some have decided to make their mark on the Statehouse in an effort to be heard.
I-69 has been a highway running through indiana for as long as i can remember. All the ‘cool’ kids had the giant highway signs in there room and ect.
Also, there was an old street sign for Harry Bhals Road.. which is now H. Bhals (former mayor i think) And Butt Road (which is cracked in the middle!) and good ol High Street
Also the phone company was kind enough to give us the phone number of 420-6969 which was awesome.
You think I-69 is funny? Have you looked at a Michigan map? To get from the east to the west side of the state you have to get on I-69 then switch over to I-96. We wife and I made the trip a couple of weeks ago. Almost needless to say, we switched driving positions at that point. I just seemed like the right thing to do.
And don’t even get me started on how I-75’s exit 69 is actually named Big Beaver Road.
What I always thought was dumb is that I-69 runs through my hometown (Lansing, Michigan), where it runs for several miles cosigned with Interstate 96. The I-96 sign is more prominent, so that travelers on 69 suddenly find themselves on 96! It can be hell giving people directions here in Lansing.
I live in Sugar Land, TX (just southwest of Houston) and U.S. 59, the road that will become I-69, is vital to the transportation in the area. It is a lifeline to downtown Houston and is one of the most expanded roads here with over 20 lanes in some spots. I-69 would be a great alternative to using I-45 which goes through the DFW area.
The road signs are going to be stolen faster than they can be put up.
Tom, oddly enough, the signs are being stolen already. There are some here that say “Future home of I-69” and others that say “I-69 Future Corridor”. They are being plucked up so fast I do not even think that the department of transportation is going to even attempt to replace them.
What’s the bfd? They’ve had Highway 69 in Overland Park, Kansas for years!!! Chill, John, there’s worse (Bush signing this pork-filled bill) things…
In terms of South Arkansas, I-69 would serve areas that have poor East-West transportation. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it is a good idea.
I’m originally from Indiana. People have been stealing I-69 signs for a long time. The fix is usually to use sign connectors (or welds) that can’t be unfastened with normal tools.
The section of I-69 between Indianapolis and Evansville (there’s an existing segment between I-64 north of Evansville and the Kentucky border) has been needed for a very long time. The construction will upgrade state road 37 between Indy and Bloomington to a freeway, and will replace or supplement other two lane roads that connect the two cities. Construction of this segment has been opposed by certain people from Bloomington who seem to have an interest in keeping southern Indiana rural and (mostly) poor.
There used to be a route 69 in NJ. It was changed to 31 because the signs were stolen do frequently.
– Precision Blogger
It’s a really interesting idea, but it seems to me that the way they’re going about this is to bundle it with other Federal Pork. Look what happened to the Alasksa Bridge project recentlty? After Hurricane Katrina, Pork-spending is getting greater srutiny and I bet that this project may not get funded after all. Besides, Delay may not have the power he once had after his indictment.
But what do I know…