Indiana awards $90 million contract for I-69 construction

DISCUSS

Comments Comment on this story

BLOOMINGTON – State highway officials have awarded a southern Indiana company a $90 million contract to build a 6 1/2-mile section of the Evansville-to-Indianapolis Interstate 69 extension in Monroe County.

The Herald-Times reports the Indiana Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that Gohmann Asphalt & Construction Co. of Clarksville was chosen from among 10 contractors that bid on the contract.

The company's contract includes building an interchange in Monroe County to provide access to a connector road to Indiana 445 in Greene County. State officials hope to open nearly 70 miles of the 142-mile Evansville-to-Indianapolis highway by late this year.

Environmentalists who oppose the $3 billion project say it will damage sensitive cave ecosystems in Monroe County and other areas and provide little improvement in travel time between the two cities.