Bad Ideas Never Seem To Go Away

Just days after the Senate unveiled its budget plan that includes some tax cuts and more than $200 million in additional spending for transportation, the Star reports that the Senate's top budget writer, Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville), wants to renew efforts for a new outer beltway known as the Commerce Connector that would construct yet another interstate highway encircling the metropolitan area beyond the I-465 beltway. The $1.52 billion highway envisions by Kenley would start from Indianapolis' airport on the far west side, travel as far south as Martinsville, then travel east to Shelbyville before heading north to Pendleton.

Kenley, R-Noblesville, said the Commerce Connector, along with the completion of I-69 and the expansion of I-70 and I-65 to six lanes, would keep Indiana at the forefront of the transportation, logistics and warehousing industries.

“That has been one of our biggest growth industries,” he said.

The connector also would ease congestion in Hamilton County along I-69 north of I-465, he said.

“We need to get this infrastructure fixed up,” he said. “The Commerce Connector looks like a likely solution to me.” .  .  .

The new highway would be operated as a toll road, which I think would doom any potential success it would have unless alternative routes are tolled. That's not to mention the large amount of valuable farmland the new highway would consume. The Farm Bureau strongly opposed the plan when it was first offered by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2006, who abandoned the idea because of the large, diverse group of opponents to the plan. It also points up the problem opponents of a tax increase to fund a regional mass transit authority have complained about. The demand to build even more highways that promote urban sprawl isn't abated by large expenditures for mass transit.