Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Indiana Just Building Highways for Highway Building’s Sake

There's a fixed mindset in many corners of the country, perhaps especially in the Midwest, which holds that highway building is an unquestioned economic good.

false

Aaron Renn at the Urbanophile captures it perfectly in this quote borrowed from a friend: "Highways and bridges and casinos are their answer to every problem: Tax base eroding? Build a casino. Urban congestion? Build a highway. Can’t get to casinos? Build a bridge."

That definitely seems to be the strategy elected leaders are pursuing in Indiana, Renn says. After three decades of political pressure from southwest Indiana, the state has begun constructing I-69 between Evansville and Indianapolis, a project that will likely cost at least a billion or two dollars to complete. And already, highway boosters are starting to agitate for their next big project: I-67.

Renn says this type of highway building has become completely divorced from transportation needs -- it's just a "snake oil solution" the state can sell to struggling communities:

One might perhaps justify I-69 on the simple matter of fairness. Look at a map and see freeway spokes radiating from Indianapolis to the rest of the state, with the southwest link missing. But it certainly wasn’t justified economically. The existing interstate rolling through Southern Indiana, I-64, is the least traveled in the state despite linking St. Louis and Louisville, and has not spawned much in the way of economic development. There’s little prospect for I-69 doing much better, at least south of Bloomington. If you wanted to build it to try to save the Crane Naval Warfare Center from closure then fine, but at least say that’s why you’re building it.

But I-67?

What this actually shows is that for a lot of people, building highways is a end itself.

There will never be a day when people aren’t pushing some sort of massive boondoggle. It may well be that the state hasn’t agreed to build this road. But it’s also early. Few of Indiana’s major projects, whether that be the Illiana Expressway, I-69, or the Ohio River Bridges, were cooked up by the engineers in INDOT’s planning department. Instead, they were local priorities that over time became “high priority” projects for the state.

Without much else to offer economic hope to fading rural areas, small towns, and old small industrial cities, highway construction is easy snake oil solution. No amount of highway construction will ever satiate this never-ending demand for yet more mega-roads.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Greater Greater Washington reports that DC may start offering reimbursement to District employees who commute by bike. Mobilizing the Region writes that New York state just slashed funding for biking and walking, soon after enacting a complete streets law. And Systemic Failure remarks on a court case that could have implications for rails-to-trails projects nationwide.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Are Going Broke

Car ownership is a huge expense, especially for low-income U.S. households, which spend a third of their pre-tax paychecks on transportation, new federal stats show.

December 13, 2024

Friday Video: A Deep Dive on Toronto’s Ridiculous New Anti-Bike Lane Law

"This selfish, entitled surbanite is willing to let people die for the hope of shaving a few minutes off of his commute."

December 13, 2024

Talking Headways Podcast: Bulk Transit Passes for All

Jawnt's Ruth Miller on how employer transit pass programs like SEPTA's work to support employees, agencies and regions overall.

December 12, 2024

America Has A New ‘Friendliest’ State for Cycling

...but even the best of the best isn't doing enough to protect people on two wheels, a top advocacy group warns.

December 12, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines Hold Out Hope

It's not as catchy a slogan as MAGA, but maybe Donald Trump will Make American High-Speed Rail Great For the First Time?

December 12, 2024
See all posts