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
The nearly portion of the I-69 extension from south of Clarksdale, Mississippi to the Louisiana/Texas state line will be built as a new-terrain route that parallels existing US and state highways in some locations. As well as covering the part in Texas northeast of Nacogdoches, SIU 16 also extends into Louisiana, ending at US 171 near Stonewall. SIU 15 continues around the south and east sides of the Shreveport area, crossing I-49 and ending at I-20 near Haughton. SIU 14 extends northeast from I-20 to US 82 near El Dorado, Arkansas, and SIU 13 continues northeast to US 65 near McGehee, mainly paralleling US 278. Also included in Corridor 18, as SIU 28, is an extension of I-530 from Pine Bluff south along the US 425 corridor to I-69 west of Monticello; a short piece at the south end opened in mid-2006 as Highway 530. The Charles W. Dean Bridge, SIU 12, will cross the Mississippi River between McGehee, Arkansas and Benoit, Mississippi, while SIU 11 will parallel US 61 to Tunica Resorts. SIU 10, the first completed portion of the I-69 extension, runs east from Robinsonville to I-55 near Hernando, and opened in late 2006. With the record of decision signed in 2007, the FHWA authorized MDOT to add I-69 signs on I-55 from the I-55/I-69 interchange in Hernando to the Tennessee state line.