I-70 and US 41
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Underused U.S. 41 north of Evansville |
Hoosier Environmental Council
1002 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
(317) 685-8800
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 29, 1998
CONTACTS:
NBC NEWS EXPOSES I-69 HIGHWAY AS "FLEECING OF AMERICA"
Opponents Say Tom Brokaw Broadcast Should Spell Death Knell for I-69 Boondoggle
NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw tonight branded the proposed new Evansville-to-Indianapolis Interstate 69 highway as a "Fleecing of America." Farmers, conservationists, taxpayer groups and other I-69 opponents predicted the national broadcast would be a knockout blow to the controversial new highway.
NBC Nightly News called the highway "a fleecing that would take you and your tax dollars for a billion-dollar ride."
"Fleecing of America" is a regular feature on NBC Nightly News, which is viewed by about 11 million Americans. The "Fleecing of America" segment exposes wasteful ripoffs and gross abuses of taxpayers’ money.
"Although not one teacup of concrete has been poured, $34 million already have been spent. That number will only go astronomically higher once construction begins. Is all this really necessary?" the broadcast asked.
The broadcast pointed out that the proposed new highway would cost taxpayers at least $1.3 billion. It added: "All the disruption, all the construction and all that money would create a new highway that’s only 10 miles shorter than an existing highway nearby. That is US 41, which roughly parallels the proposed new road and already connects to Indianapolis. Improving it would cost much less than building the new road -- $800 million less."
Opponents of the proposed new highway hailed the Brokaw broadcast as a turning point in the I-69 debate. They said the broadcast made it unlikely that Congress would allocate federal funds for the proposed new highway. They said it should force Governor O’Bannon to finally support the less expensive alternative of upgrading US 41 between Evansville and Terre Haute, taking advantage of a bypass around Terre Haute that is already on the drawing board, and connecting to existing Interstate 70 between Terre Haute and Indianapolis.
"Opposition to the new I-69 highway is growing daily," said Andy Knott, Air and Energy Policy Director for the Hoosier Environmental Council. "Now, thanks to NBC, 11 million Americans know that this boondoggle is a taxpayer ripoff and a fleecing of America."
Thomas Tokarski, President of Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, a grassroots organization of Southwest Indiana families that has been fighting the proposed new highway for eight years, said the broadcast confirmed what highway opponents have long been saying. "This gives national exposure to this highway as an obscenely wasteful porkbarrel project," Tokarski said.
"The broadcast could not have come at a better time," said Alexander Ewing, staff attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest. "Within the next few weeks, Congress will decide whether to spend federal tax dollars on the proposed new highway. Now that Tom Brokaw has exposed it as a boondoggle, Congress is highly unlikely to fund it."
Highway opponents said the broadcast would add to the growing momentum in favor of the US 41/I-70 alternative. That alternative, in addition to saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, would save thousands of acres of farms and forests that the new highway would destroy.
The US 41/I-70 alternative got a big boost earlier this month, when the Terre Haute Mayor and Chamber of Commerce announced a campaign to organize western Indiana legislators and communities against the new highway and in favor of US 41/I-70.
A transcript of the "Fleecing of America" broadcast is expected to be available tomorrow and may be obtained by calling Andy Knott at (317) 685-8800. Information is also available on the Internet at http://www.msnbc.com/onair/nbc/nightlynews/fleecing/default.asp
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Please visit our friends working for commonsense on I-69:
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