Editing Interstate 69 (section)

==History==

===Original route===
[[File:Interstate 69 map.png|thumb|right|Map of the original I-69 route]]
A route from I-465 in [[Indianapolis]] northeast via [[Fort Wayne, Indiana|Fort Wayne]] to I-80/I-90 near [[Angola, Indiana|Angola]] was added to the proposed "Interregional Highway System" by the early 1940s. Unlike most of the routes, it was not drawn along an existing [[U.S. Route]] corridor, except north of Fort Wayne (where it used [[U.S. Route 27 in Indiana|US&nbsp;27]]); most of it ran roughly parallel to [[Indiana State Road 9|SR&nbsp;9]] and [[Indiana State Road 37|SR&nbsp;37]].<ref name=PRA-1943>{{cite map |author = Public Roads Administration |url = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interregional_Highway_plan_ca_1943.jpg |title = Routes of the Recommended Interregional Highway System |date = c. 1943 |scale = Scale not given |location = Washington, DC |publisher = Public Roads Administration |via = [[Wikimedia Commons]] |access-date = February 27, 2016 |archive-date = January 30, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160130235654/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interregional_Highway_plan_ca_1943.jpg |url-status = live }}</ref> The extension beyond Angola to I-94 near [[Marshall, Michigan]], actually started out as part of what evolved into I-94. On early plans, the Chicago–Detroit route would have replaced [[U.S. Route 112|US&nbsp;112]] (now [[U.S. Route 12 in Michigan|US&nbsp;12]]), splitting from I-80/I-90 at [[South Bend, Indiana|South Bend]].<ref name=PRA-1943/><ref>{{cite map |author = Public Roads Administration |url = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interregional_Highway_plan_1939.jpg |title = Proposed Interregional Highway System |year = 1939 |scale = Scale not given |location = Washington, DC |publisher = Public Roads Administration |via = Wikimedia Commons |access-date = February 27, 2016 |archive-date = January 2, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160102173240/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interregional_Highway_plan_1939.jpg |url-status = live }}</ref> By 1947, the route had been shifted north to present I-94, along what was then US&nbsp;12, but the connection to South Bend remained, splitting at [[Kalamazoo, Michigan|Kalamazoo]].<ref>{{cite map |author = Public Roads Administration |url = http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_August_2,_1947_big_text.jpg |title = National System of Interstate Highways, August 2, 1947 |scale = Scale not given |location = Washington, DC |publisher = Public Roads Administration |via = Wikimedia Commons |access-date = October 25, 2013 |archive-date = October 29, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202001/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_August_2,_1947_big_text.jpg |url-status = live }}</ref>

The I-69 designation was assigned to the Indianapolis–Angola route in 1957, while the short South Bend–Kalamazoo route became proposed [[Interstate 67|I-67]].<ref>{{cite map |author = Public Roads Administration |url = http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_August_14,_1957.jpg |title = Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways |date = August 14, 1957 |scale = Scale not given |location = Washington, DC |publisher = Public Roads Administration |via = Wikimedia Commons |access-date = February 27, 2016 |archive-date = November 10, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121110055957/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_August_14,_1957.jpg |url-status = live }}</ref> The I-67 designation was shifted east to the US&nbsp;27 corridor by early 1958, eventually being absorbed into the extension of I-69 to I-94 near Marshall which was built in 1967.<ref>{{cite report |author = [[Michigan State Highway Department]] |publisher = Michigan State Highway Department |url = http://nwindianahwys.homestead.com/michiplan.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20021016104545/http://nwindianahwys.homestead.com/michiplan.html |title = Recommended Numbering: Interstate Highways in Michigan |date = April 25, 1958 |archive-date = October 16, 2002 |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite map |author = Public Roads Administration |url = http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_June_27,_1958.jpg |title = Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways |date = June 27, 1958 |scale = Scale not given |location = Washington, DC |publisher = Public Roads Administration |via = Wikimedia Commons |access-date = October 25, 2013 |archive-date = October 29, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200357/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_June_27,_1958.jpg |url-status = live }}</ref> The [[Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968]] authorized an additional {{convert|1500|mi|km}} of Interstates to be chosen by the FHWA; among Michigan's proposals was a {{convert|156|mi|km|adj=on}} extension of I-69 northeast and east via US&nbsp;27 to [[Lansing, Michigan|Lansing]], [[M-78 (Michigan highway)|M-78]] to [[Flint, Michigan|Flint]], and [[M-21 (Michigan highway)|M-21]] to [[Port Huron, Michigan|Port Huron]].<ref name=argus68>{{cite news |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tTciAAAAIBAJ&pg=3348,1518663&dq=us+131+freeway&hl=en |title = Highway Additions Requested By State |work = The Owosso Argus-Press |agency = Associated Press |date = November 14, 1968 |page = 7 |access-date = December 5, 2010 |oclc = 9802802 |archive-date = June 7, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210607160522/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tTciAAAAIBAJ&pg=3348%2C1518663&dq=us+131+freeway&hl=en |url-status = live }}</ref> However, the FHWA initially only approved the route to [[Interstate 475 (Michigan)|I-475]] in Flint.<ref>{{cite MDOT map|year=1984|inset=Flint}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |author = Federal Highway Administration |url = http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_October_1,_1970.jpg |title = The National System of Interstate and Defense Highways |date = October 1, 1970 |scale = Scale not given |location = Washington, DC |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |via = Wikimedia Commons |access-date = October 25, 2013 |archive-date = October 29, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204744/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_October_1,_1970.jpg |url-status = live }}</ref> The continuation to Port Huron was eventually approved in February&nbsp;1987.<ref name=IHShistory>{{cite web |first = Richard |last = Weingroff |date = July 16, 2013 |orig-year = 1998 |url = https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/data/page01.cfm |title = Part I: History |work = The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |access-date = August 18, 2013 |archive-date = June 7, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210607160613/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/data/page01.cfm |url-status = live }}</ref> Michigan's {{convert|1241|mi|km|adj=on}} portion of the Interstate Highway System was completed in 1992, when the last piece of I-69 opened southwest of Lansing between I-96 and [[Charlotte, Michigan|Charlotte]].<ref name=completion>{{cite news |url = https://newspaperarchive.com/marshall-chronicle/1992-10-17/page-20?tag=interstate+69&rtserp=tags%2Finterstate-69%3Fpci%3D7&psi=52&py=1992 |title = I-69 Now Open South of Lansing |work = [[Marshall Evening Chronicle]] |agency = Associated Press |page = 20 |oclc = 18110507 |access-date = August 17, 2013 |archive-date = June 7, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210607160437/https://newspaperarchive.com/marshall-chronicle-oct-17-1992-p-20/ |url-status = live }}</ref>

===Extended route===
[[File:Interstate 69 sign near Laredo, TX IMG 6059.JPG|thumb|The current US&nbsp;59 will become I-69W; picture taken east of Laredo, Texas]]
[[Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act]] (ISTEA) of 1991 included two [[High Priority Corridor]]s that would later become parts of a proposed crosscountry extension of I-69:<ref>{{cite web |url = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:HR02950: |title = H.R.2950 |publisher = Thomas.loc.gov |access-date = January 13, 2012 |archive-date = December 15, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121215195446/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:HR02950: |url-status = dead }}</ref>
* (18) Corridor from [[Indianapolis]], to [[Memphis, Tennessee]], via [[Evansville, Indiana]].
* (20) US&nbsp;59 Corridor from the [[Mexico–United States border|Mexican border]] in [[Laredo, Texas]], through [[Houston]], to the vicinity of [[Texarkana, Texas]].
Corridor&nbsp;18 was extended southwest to Houston, where it connected to Corridor&nbsp;20, by the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; the new definition read "Corridor from Indianapolis, Indiana, through Evansville, Indiana, Memphis, Tennessee, [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]]/[[Bossier City, Louisiana|Bossier, Louisiana]], and to Houston, Texas."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:HR05518: |title = H.R. 5518 |publisher = Thomas.loc.gov |access-date = January 13, 2012 |archive-date = December 15, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121215202742/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:HR05518: |url-status = dead }}</ref> The [[National Highway System Designation Act of 1995]] made further amendments to the description of Corridor&nbsp;18, specifying that it would serve [[Mississippi]] and [[Arkansas]], extending it south to the Mexican border in the [[Lower Rio Grande Valley]] and adding a short connection at [[Brownsville, Texas]]. This act also specified that Corridors&nbsp;18 and 20 were "future parts of the [[Interstate Highway System|Interstate System]]" to become actual Interstates when built to [[Interstate Highway standards]] and connected to other Interstates. Although the act designated Corridor&nbsp;9 as [[Interstate 99|I-99]], no number was assigned to Corridors&nbsp;18 and 20 yet.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d104:s.00440: |title = S.440 |publisher = Thomas.loc.gov |date = February 16, 1995 |access-date = January 13, 2012 |archive-date = September 4, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150904093813/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d104:s.00440: |url-status = dead }}</ref>

The [[Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century]] (TEA-21), enacted in 1998, greatly expanded the definition of Corridor&nbsp;18 to include the existing I-69, as well as I-94 between Port Huron, Michigan, and [[Chicago]]. A connection to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, was added, and the extension to the Lower Rio Grande Valley was detailed as splitting into two routes just south of [[Victoria, Texas|Victoria]], one following US&nbsp;77 and the other following US&nbsp;59 and US&nbsp;281 to the Rio Grande.<!--mention Dickey Split study?--> This act also assigned the I-69 designation to Corridors&nbsp;18 and 20, with the branches on US&nbsp;77, US&nbsp;281, and US&nbsp;59 to the Rio Grande being "Interstate&nbsp;69 East", "Interstate&nbsp;69 Central", and "Interstate&nbsp;69 West", respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d105:h.r.02400: |title = H.R. 2400 |publisher = Thomas.loc.gov |access-date = January 13, 2012 |archive-date = December 16, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121216061246/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d105:h.r.02400: |url-status = dead }}</ref> With TEA-21, the I-69 extension took shape and remains today as those segments.<ref>{{cite web |author = Staff |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |url = http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep10/nhs/hipricorridors/hpcor.html |title = NHS High Priority Corridors Description |access-date = August 31, 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070210080756/http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep10/nhs/hipricorridors/hpcor.html |archive-date = February 10, 2007 }}</ref>

In 2000, Corridors&nbsp;18 and 20 were split into 32&nbsp;SIUs as part of the I-69 (Corridor&nbsp;18) Special Environmental Study.<ref name=SES>{{cite report |title = I-69 (Corridor 18) Special Environmental Study |date = February 7, 2000 }}</ref> In Texas, it was originally envisioned that private firms will [[Build–operate–transfer|build, operate, then transfer]] portions of the highway to the state after a specified period of time. Lawmakers in Kentucky once considered a bill that would authorize the re-tolling of three parkways slated to become part of I-69.{{Citation needed|date=March 2015}}

====Opposition and controversy====
The construction of the I-69 extension beyond Indianapolis has angered environmentalists. In particular, the southern portion of the route in Indiana would run through wetlands, existing farmland, and forested areas, and cut through geologically sensitive [[karst]] topography, which environmentalists argue threatens to pollute underground water systems and harm the [[rare species]] that live there.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.elpc.org/transportation/interstate69/index.php |title = Indiana I-69 |publisher = ELPC |access-date = January 13, 2012 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080626034249/http://www.elpc.org/transportation/interstate69/index.php |archive-date = June 26, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = The World This Week: Nafty Business: 'Super Corridor' will pave over the heart of America |last = Bisbort |first = Alan |work = The Valley Advocate |url = http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=4476 |access-date = December 3, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071201150110/http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=4476 |archive-date = December 1, 2007 |url-status = dead }}</ref> [[Fiscal conservative]]s also oppose completion of I-69, arguing that federal legislation establishing the I-69 corridor amounts to an [[unfunded mandate]] imposed by the federal government upon the states through which the highway will travel, as the legislation requires states to pursue construction of their portions of I-69 but provides no funding mechanism to cover its estimated $25-billion cost, thereby leaving cash-strapped states to figure out how to finance its construction. Three states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) have publicly stated they will not build their sections of I-69 until Congress appropriates funds to complete environmental studies, design, and construction in each state.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}