Some still not sold on I-69 extension

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - The complaints were quieter but still firm during the latest public hearing over plans for the Interstate 69 extension in southern Indiana.

Some 400 people turned out Tuesday night in Bloomington to see and comment on the state highway department's proposals for I-69 interchanges and access roads along the current Indiana 37 route between there and Martinsville.

The Herald-Times reports ( http://bit.ly/IaIdAv ) about 20 people spoke against the plans, raising concerns focused on the loss of land, noise and air pollution, lack of bicycle access and money being diverted from local roads.

Hoosier Voices for I-69 representative Morgan Hutton encouraged people to keep learning about the highway's benefits.

The meeting was mostly courteous compared to when tempers flared during last state-sponsored public hearing on the highway section in 2005.