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 in Mississippi
In Clarksdale, I-69 will merge with U.S. Route 278 and continue south, serving Shelby, following the existing U.S. 61 route. I-69 and U.S. 278 will diverge from U.S. 61 near Merigold, bypassing Cleveland to the west, and continue south to near Shaw, then west to Benoit where it will intersect Mississippi Highway 1. The Final Environmental Impact Statement for SIU 11 was approved in August 2010, and the Record of Decision was issued in September 2010. Due to funding issues, no major construction on this section of I-69 is expected through at least 2019, although some spot upgrades are planned on sections of US-61 that I-69 will eventually overlap. The 2016-2020 Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) published by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) anticipates construction to begin in 2020 to upgrade a 6-mile (10 km) section of US-61 to I-69 from the north end of the Clarksdale Bypass to near Swan Lake. The 2017-2020 STIP released by MDOT in December 2016 includes $3 million in FY-2017 for engineering and design work on the northernmost section of SIU-11 from the south end of the existing I-69 freeway at MS-3 and MS-713 to Arkabutla Dam Road.