Gary Truitt editorial on the history of I-69

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REPRINTED EDITORIAL: January 22, 2003

What is the Price of Progress?
I-69 Issue Begs the Question

By Gary Truitt

[Reprinted with the permission of Farm World]

The I-69 interstate is a very real and personal issue for farmers and residents of southwest Indiana. For the rest of us, it is just a news story. It is a story, however, that may foretell the future of many rural communities. The saying “If we don’t learn from history, we are bound to repeat it” certainly applies to the I-69 issue.

In 1960, there was a wonderful community on the east side of Indianapolis known as Brightwood. It was a community with strong intact families, many churches, and a local school system with high standards that local children attended. Employment was high and crime was low. Houses were modest, but well-kept on tree-lined streets.

Then the interstate came. In 1965, in the name of economic progress, I-70 and I-65 cut through Brightwood on their way to Indianapolis. The construction literally cut the community in half and lasted for about 10 years. When the work was finally completed, most of the area businesses had left along with many of the residents. By 1970, the population of the community was 18,928 - a 25 percent decline from just a decade earlier. In addition, local streets were changed to route traffic more quickly in and out of the downtown business district. State and city leaders said the progress was needed to stimulate economic progress, to bring jobs to the area, and to position Indiana as the Crossroads of America.

During the next decade as Indianapolis grew and prospered, Brightwood disintegrated. With about a third of its residents meeting the federal definition of “poor,” the area was designated “most in need” by the federal government. In 1980, St Francis de Sales Catholic Church closed after serving the area for 102 years. In 1985, the last remaining bank branch in the area closed. In 1991, the area was targeted by law enforcement agencies for programs to combat gang and drug activity.

Today, Brightwood remains a community in transition. Local church and community groups are making progress in solving some of the social and economic challenges of the area, but much needs to be done. The economic growth the interstate system brought never came to Brightwood, but the vivisection of the community by the roadway forever changed the way of life for thousands of Hoosiers.

The route for I-69 that Indiana Governor Frank O’Bannon chose is the most direct route between Indianapolis and Evansville, Ind. It is also the most expensive route and will chew up more than 4,000 acres of farmland. In making the announcement, the Governor said the project will bring economic growth to communities like Bloomington and Evansville. However, smaller communities like Washington, Ind. with its large Amish population, may have an experience similar to Brightwood. Many farms in the path of the interstate may be split in half. The 2,800 acre Maxwell farm in Morgan County is one that may find it now has fields on both sides of the highway.

The I-69 project still has a long way to go. The federal government, which is paying 80 percent of the cost, still has the final word. Environmental groups are promising lots of lawsuits that will delay the project even more. Yet we see in this process how the folks in Washington and the state capitol view rural communities.

They see rural areas as “undeveloped” land. They see a town with small, locally owned shops and no Wal-Marts or strip malls as communities in need of development. While it is true that many of our towns need more jobs and vocational opportunities for young people, it would be nice if this could be accomplished without destroying a way of life many prefer. Does the price of progress have to be the loss of community?

We in small towns and rural communities need to educate our policy makers and elected officials that we are not just a vast wasteland waiting for the next highway or strip mall to be built. We need to insist that agriculture be considered when measuring the economic activity of an area. We must insist that quality of life concerns be considered when evaluating the benefits of a development project. If we do not fight for the land, it will be taken from us. If we do not fight for our communities, they will disappear.