CountryBoy19
Grandmaster
Daniels pushed for it and used Major moves to get it funded. Pretty sure Pence signed off on the contract with the private company to finance and build section 5. It causes problems for more than the Nimbys, it is causing problems for anyone who uses 37 daily and is really going to cause problems for people going to the IU games this year.
Daniels found a way to pay for it without major financial impact to the state at the time. Ultimately it boiled down to the state making out like bandits on the toll-road and using the money to improve infrastructure.
That being said, I can't quite figure out where the brunt of your dislike lies. Is it with the long-term impacts or the short-term inconveniences? Or both? Is it only with the Bloomington to Indy sections or all of it?
The fact of the matter is, highways, especially interstates attract businesses and make them operate more efficiently. More businesses and more efficient businesses not only benefit the people of the state but also the state itself in higher tax revenues. Of course, you can't put the cart before the horse; the infrastructure (highways included) must come first. We are already seeing operational improvements for businesses on the sections of I69 that have been open for a few years now. While it could be argued that SR37 was a perfectly functional 4-lane highway and we didn't need to upgrade it to I69, it would be asinine and short-sighted to not do it. Maybe the upgrade is pre-mature, I don't know. But you can't have an interstate highway that stretches across 80% of the state and have a regular 4-lane smack in the middle and expect things to flow smoothly. Traffic will only continue to build on that stretch of 4-lane; making it more hazardous.
Lastly, regarding the inconvenience, it comes with the territory of road-work. Yes, it's inconvenient, yes it sucks for people that have to travel it daily. But you generally can't grow without some form of growing pains. For those that don't have to travel it on a fixed schedule, it's not that bad off-peak. Mid-morning, mid-afternoon, late evenings and early morning hours and the traffic all flows pretty smooth (it is a bit slowed because of the decrease speed limit, but it's still smooth). I travel it north of Bloomington on a monthly basis, and to Bloomington on a weekly basis. It has already helped traffic flow much more smoothly on the south side of Bloomington; that will only improve as time goes on.