Five of the six key portions of I-69 in Indiana, from Evansville to Indianapolis, are on their way to completion. They have funding and are under construction or completed.
As crews continue to work in Indiana, though, many questions remain: Where will funding to finish the road come from? Will it achieve its full economic potential? How will it bridge state lines to create a trade corridor across the middle of America?
Representatives from all the states along the I-69 corridor convened in Bloomington this week for the I-69 regional summit. How to fund the road and create opportunities for economic growth remain the biggest questions.
Former Hudson Institute economist David Reed worked with early visionaries in the 1980s to develop plans for a mid-continent highway that would connect Canada to Mexico through the Midwest. He says the project's potential has not yet been fully realized and that, with the demise of federal funding for interstate highways, it's up to states to act on their own.
"Its clear that places like Texas and Mississippi are serious about it," he says. "It's not so clear that other states along the corridor are equally serious. I think it's crucial that those of us who really believe in the potential of this road be more aggressive in reaching out to those states and those communities along the road and helping them understand the potential it has for their long term growth and development."
The first 67 miles of the road from Evansville to Crane opened in 2012. But there's little traffic on the road and no development.
Washington, Ind., Mayor Joe Wellman says a lot of things are happening behind the scenes, such as infrastructure upgrades and zoning changes.
The major U.S. 50 and I-69 interchange sits in Washington's city limits, and Wellman says soon it will be better than shovel ready.
"We're getting a lot of  inquiries," he says. "I think a lot of places are waiting to look at our road structure. Businesses base a lot on traffic counts, and while they have been increasing for the past two years traffic has been increasing."
Wellman says he thinks that an influx of traffic between Bloomington and Evansville will spur people to become involved in the project.
The Breakdown of I-69 Funding
Five of the six sections of I-69 in Indiana have funding or a financing plan in place. Here's how it breaks down.
Section 1-3 (Evansville to Crane): Leasing of the Indiana Toll Road
Section 4 (Crane to Bloomington): Gas tax
Section 5 (Bloomington to Martinsville): Public-private partnership with Isolux, which the state hired to construct and operate this section of the interstate.
Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Karl Browning says the partnership with Isolux means there's money to build the road while the state makes repayments to the company.
Section 6 (Martinsville to Indianapolis): To be determined.
The funding for Section 6 will not be decided until INDOT officials decide what route the road will take. It could continue north up 37, go west, or east. The only stipulation is that it has to connect to Interstate 465.
Browning says that deciding on the route is an important factor in finding funding.
"So until you make those decisions you don't' know what kind of road you have so the idea of how you're going to fund it is a little tough to come by," Browning says. "But the possibilities are everything that is a possibility with any road today – you can borrow money, you can do the public private partnership idea, a legislature could decide to fund it, Congress could decide to fund it."
"The states are looking at where the money is going to come from from their standpoint," says Rep. Larry Buschon, R-8th District, I'm on the federal transportation committee, I'm looking at federal options to help us fund the bridge. Right now there are no earmarks so I can't do that. but I think there's an opportunity because it's such a significant project that the federal government will help fund it."
The Effects Of I-69 On Hoosiers, Economy
Congressman, Rep. Todd Rokita, R-4th District, also emphasizes the interstate will not just not affect people along route.
"We are all interested in this," he says. "The Midwest is interested in this and North America is interested in this because this will keep us competitive with the rest of the world. And in the 21st century when we're competing with people and places whose names we can barely pronounce, this road is going to help level the playing field."
In the meantime Mayor Wellman says work in Washington will continue. The road is about a year behind schedule now, mostly due to issues with the terrain in Section 4 near Bloomington, but Wellman wants his community to be poised for development when the opportunity comes.
"We have seen a real impotence in our community to work together to make things happen," Wellman says.
That grass roots effort in Washington is what got the road started and ironically the economist David Reed laughs. It's the same kind of effort that'll be necessary to finish it.
"Grassroots is really key to this because the money is not likely to come from the federal level at least not as generously as it used to," Reed says.
