COVID-19 Helped Drive Daviess County Initiative

Listen to this story

Subscriber Benefit

As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now

This audio file is brought to you by

0:00

0:00

Loading audio file, please wait.

Speed
1.00

• 0.25
• 0.50
• 0.75
• 1.00
• 1.25
• 1.50
• 1.75
• 2.00

Organizers say life in a post-COVID-19 world helped drive the creation of the Advance Daviess County Coalition, a group of business, community and political leaders formed to promote economic recovery in the region. The coalition, announced Tuesday in Washington, will focus on three pillars as it pursues long-term economic recovery:  business growth and retention, supply chain creation, and quality of life. 

“We knew that economic development had to play a leadership role in helping Daviess County come out of this stronger,” said Daviess County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Bryant Niehoff, who said the effort could be “transformational” for the region.

Niehoff tells Inside INdiana Business the group will take an aggressive public awareness stance, including promoting Daviess County as a preferred route for the planned Mid-States Corridor.

The group’s first initiative, the Daviess Driven campaign, is aimed at convincing decision makers at the local, state and federal levels that the planned Mid-States Corridor should run through Daviess County.

The long talked about project would begin at State Road 66 near the William H. Natcher Bridge crossing the Ohio River at Rockport and extend north, eventually connecting with I-69.

State officials are currently looking at several potential routes for the corridor, which is viewed by many as a way to connect rural communities throughout southern Indiana with safer, more efficient transportation options.

A spokesperson for the project says the project team is continuing its analysis of the preferred alternatives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A preferred corridor will be identified in the Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which will be followed by a formal comment period.”

Niehoff will talk about efforts to promote Daviess County on this weekend’s edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.