First Tier 2 study for Mid-States Corridor project to begin
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The team behind the Mid-States Corridor Project in southern Indiana has received approval from the Indiana Department of Transportation to proceed with its first Tier 2 study.
The study will be the first of several to determine the alignment and access plan for the new highway, which is being designed to connect I-64 to I-69 through Spencer, Dubois and Martin counties.
The first Tier 2 study will focus on what’s known as Section of Independent Utility 2, or SIU 2, which extends from Interstate 64 near Huntingburg and Jasper to State Road 56 at Haysville in Dubois County.
The goal of the study is to “evaluate more site-specific impacts to determine the specific preferred location and right-of-way needs” for the highway. The study of SIU 2 is expected to take about three years to complete.
Early activity of the study will include survey work and data analysis, the project team said.
Related: Mid-States Corridor rolls forward with business sector support, community blowback
In March 2023, the project team identified a refined preferred route alternative, known as Alternative P, which would run 54 from the I-64/U.S. 231 interchange up to I-69 near Odon.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued last September said four new alignment SIUs will each require a separate Tier 2 analysis and are expected to take place sequentially, rather than concurrently.
“Securing and programming funding to complete construction of each SIU may take nine to 15 years in several distinct phases of three to five years,” the FEIS said.
The Tier 2 studies for the remaining SIUs have not been scheduled.