After a quarter century of projecting, planning and waiting, major progress will soon begin for the Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor.

Addressing a room full of community and political leaders at Friday’s HHIC 2007 annual luncheon, Karl Browning, the commissioner of INDOT, said he expects road construction to begin by 2010. However, he pointed out the project’s development timeline has already begun.

Nearly $20 million has already been spent on various consulting work, including engineering and environmental studies as well as project design — all of which Browning said needs to be in place before the first shovel of dirt is overturned.

Browning said INDOT could begin purchasing land by the end of this year and he expects to have most of the right-of-way acquisitions complete by the middle to the end of 2008. If that process goes well, he added, there is a chance that construction could start sooner than 2010.

“We’re committed to starting construction by 2010, but there’s a 60 percent chance of starting as early as next year.” he said, which drew applause from the large crowd. “That’s not going to get you ribbons of road. It’s going to be overpasses and things of that nature. It will be a start and it will be the right start. It’s what we need to do anyway, so it’s just a good opportunity to get things going perhaps a little ahead of schedule.”

The corridor, which is scheduled to be complete by 2014, will connect Interstates 65 and 69 and eventually continue into Ohio, however, the main focus for Friday’s luncheon, which was sponsored by the Cass County Chamber of Commerce, was on the Lafayette-to-Logansport portion. Mayors from Logansport, Delphi and Lafayette were on hand at the event to show support and discuss the positive impact the project will have on their communities.

Mayors Tony Roswarski of Lafayette and Lee Hoard of Delphi both spoke of their experiences in law enforcement and about the current safety hazards of Ind. 25. While most of the day’s discussion was about the economic benefits the corridor will have, both Hoard and Roswarski focused on the safety benefits and the reduction of traffic accidents the highway should provide.

A big part of the delay to this point has been the lack of funding. Browning said that INDOT has an annual budget of just $200 million for all new road construction. The construction costs of the Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor is estimated between $400 and $500 million, which does not include money for consulting and studies or for land acquisition.

“When it’s all said and done, the total cost of this highway will be well over $500 million,” Browning said.

Senator Tom Weatherwax, who was in attendance at Friday’s luncheon, was instrumental in passing $3.8 billion for Major Moves, which will be a major benefit for the corridor program.

“The completion of this highway is very important for us,” he said. “We’ve got the money to go forward, now I’m just anxious to start moving forward.”

However, in the most recent legislative session, several lawmakers proposed taking money from Major Moves to fund other initiatives.

“I suspect that is why we’re standing here on the 25th anniversary and we don’t have any work done,” he said. While the proposals were eventually shot down, Browning asked those in attendance to urge state lawmakers to continue to support the corridor project. “The money needs to be there for the duration. We have the money now and there’s no reason that it shouldn’t be available through the end of the project.”

Carla Knapp can be contacted at (574) 732-5150 or via e-mail at carla.knapp@pharostribune.com