Interstate 69 in Indiana
The original plan (in a DEIS prepared by INDOT in 2004, but later dropped) was for I-69 to leave the now-former I-164 alignment somewhere just east of Green River Road (exit 3) and head south (instead of turning west with I-164) for approximately before crossing the Ohio at a point near the mouth of the Green River. This portion of the route had not then been funded, as construction of the new Ohio River crossing and its approaches in both states was expected to cost approximately $800 million. Indiana and Kentucky officials had said construction on the new Ohio River Bridge would not begin until at least 2020, after two new crossings near Louisville were completed. With Indiana then preparing to break ground on SIU 3, Kentucky officials indicated that collecting tolls might be the only feasible option for completing the I-69 bridge, as traditional federal and state funding for such projects were drying up. , neither Kentucky nor Indiana officials had yet come up with the money to plan and construct this I-69 bridge.
Interstate 69 Ohio River Bridge
With the completion of SIU-5 in Kentucky in 2015, and with I-69 connected to Indianapolis via SR-37 in Indiana (also in 2015), both states have made completing the Ohio River Crossing a top priority. On June 30, 2016, Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin announced an agreement to resume environmental studies and develop a funding strategy to complete the Ohio River Bridge and its approaches. Indiana will contribute $17 million to restart and lead the environmental studies that will culminate in an approved Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) that will allow construction to begin. Environmental studies are expected to take about 3 years to complete, with right-of-way acquisition and construction expected to begin thereafter. Kentucky has committed over $43 million in its 2016 Six Year Highway Plan for design and right-of-way acquisition for the bridge. Revisions to the Ohio River Bridge concept have helped reduce its estimated cost from the initial estimate of $1.4 billion to $845 million. Both states are considering a combination of tolls, private sector investment, and traditional funding sources to finance construction of the bridge. On November 16, 2016 INDOT and KYTC announced the selection of Parsons Corporation of Pasadena, California to complete environmental studies and design of the I-69 Ohio River Bridge. Parsons recently led the engineering and design work for the Ohio River Bridges Project between Louisville, Kentucky and southern Indiana.