Interstate 69 crosses the finish line (2024)

A decades-long initiative to construct an interstate highway linking Evansville and Bloomington in southwestern Indiana to Indianapolis and the rest of the state finally is complete.

On Tuesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb was joined by two of his predecessors, former Govs. Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence, to celebrate the opening of the culminating stretch of Interstate 69 on the south side of Indianapolis.

The completed highway now runs north from the Indiana-Kentucky border on the Ohio River, around Indianapolis on Interstate 465, past Muncie and Fort Wayne in northeast Indiana, into Michigan, and ultimately to the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron, Michigan, that spans the U.S.-Canada border.

"The opening of the I-69 Finish Line corridor completes not only a direct connection between Evansville and Indianapolis, but also to and through Kentucky and Michigan all the way ultimately to our important Canadian and Mexican supply chain trade markets," Holcomb said.

"This historic milestone, completed three years ahead of schedule, is the culmination of decades-long conversations, planning efforts and progress."

It also means future generations of students, and their parents, driving to Indiana University from Northwest Indiana no longer will have to deal with stop lights, cross streets and small towns between Indianapolis and Bloomington.

Construction of the $2 billion final segment began in 2019 in Martinsville and required upgrading more than 26 miles of State Road 37, constructing 10 interchanges, and building more than 35 lane-miles of local access roads in Morgan, Johnson and Marion counties.

"The transformation that has occurred along the I-69 Finish Line corridor over the past four-to-five years has been amazing to witness. I cannot overstate the gratitude I have for the thousands of men and women in our industry who have worked countless hours to bring the nation's newest interstate to fruition," said Mike Smith, Indiana Department of Transportation commissioner.

The northern portion of Interstate 69 from Fishers to Michigan was constructed during the national spurt of interstate highway construction during the 1960s and 1970s, leaving only southwestern Indiana without an interstate connection to the center of the state.

Following years of studies on whether to extend I-69, Daniels made the decision in 2006 to indirectly use a portion of the $3.8 billion generated by leasing the state-owned Indiana Toll Road to construct the highway between Evansville and Indianapolis.

Pence and Holcomb subsequently drew on other state resources to finish the job.