The I-69 Community Planning Program was created to aid the local communities along the I-69 corridor in planning for the future interstate. INDOT recognized the need to encourage local communities to protect natural resources, manage growth, and promote economic development associated with I-69. Throughout the process, many state, regional, and local officials and leaders will be engaged. The objectives of the I-69 Community Planning Program are to protect natural resources, manage growth, promote economic development, enhance local planning capacity, and promote intergovernmental cooperation.
The Community Planning Program will be a two phase approach consisting of a needs assessment of the local communities followed by a grant program and planning toolbox. The Tier I Record of Decision identified 31 communities that are eligible for the grant program. A series of two community meetings were held along the proposed corridor. The first series of community meetings began to identify planning related issues and planning history in the eligible communities in addition to introducing the program. During the second series of community meetings, the focus was on the grant program and the I-69 planning toolbox. The toolbox will provide resources to help communities manage growth and plan around new interchanges, for the main corridors, within the community as a whole, and on a regional scale.
Project History
The Community Planning Program and its objectives were established in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) (Volume I, Chapter 7, Mitigation, pp. 7-5 and 7-6). Following the FEIS, the Tier I Record of Decision (ROD) established the 31 counties, cities, and towns along the proposed alignment that are eligible for the grant program.
