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
While federal legislation established a mandate to extend I-69 from Indiana to Texas, it did not provide funding for its construction. I-69 construction must compete against other projects for traditional funding. Despite approval of several segments, work has been completed on only a few scattered segments, due in part to increasing costs for construction materials and machinery. As a result, several states have indicated that construction of I-69 may not be possible without the use of tolls as the primary means to finance building the highway. Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi passed legislation authorizing toll roads within each state, but have not applied tolling to their sections of I-69 due to the widespread unpopularity of toll roads in these states. A bridge over the Ohio River, which was to have been built along I-69 to connect Indiana with Kentucky, stalled in 2004 because each state did not have enough funding for it. In 2016, both states reached an agreement to restart environmental studies and develop a funding strategy for the Ohio River crossing. In December 2018, the I-69 River Crossing project team announced a preferred plan to built a new toll bridge across the Ohio River as part of I-69. Tennessee and Mississippi have suspended work on I-69 indefinitely, due to a lack of funding to build the highway outside of the Memphis metropolitan area. Arkansas has halted work on its mainline portion of I-69, aside from the Monticello Bypass, although it has applied for a federal grant to complete design and construction for the section between Monticello and McGehee. A spur known as the I-530 connector is however under construction. Louisiana officials have stated that its current priority is completing Interstate 49, and it will focus on constructing its portion of I-69 after it finishes work on I-49. In contrast, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana have been advancing construction of I-69 within each state through traditional funding sources, tolls, and innovative financing methods, such as public-private partnerships.