EDC leaders join Interstate 67 Development Corporation in Washington DC

Greater Owensboro EDC leaders joined Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly as well as mayors and Indiana state legislators from Southern Indiana in Washington DC earlier in the week to advocating the federal designation of Interstate 67, a newly planned interstate that will connect Nashville and Bowling Green to Indianapolis through Owensboro.

I-67 is a top priority of the City of Owensboro, Daviess County Fiscal Court, Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp and Chamber of Commerce. These organizations will be working closely with the Interstate 67 Development Corporation and leadership in Spencer, Dubois, and Daviess counties in southern Indiana.

The two-state delegation met with members of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate from Indiana and Kentucky over the two-day visit.  For more information about I-67 visit this link on the EDC Website.

Owensboro Leaders attend Interstate 69 Caucus Day in D.C.

Economic development leaders from Owensboro joined counterparts from northwest Kentucky and southwest Indiana in Washington D.C. for the first-ever Interstate 69 Caucus Day.

The I-69 Caucus Day was organized by Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield in conjunction with C-LINK to garner among members of Congress about the Interstate 69 corridor.  Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear was among the featured speakers.  The program included remarks from representatives and members of Congress from four of the seven states of the I-69 corridor.

Interstate 69 is a project of regional, national and international significance as a trade corridor that begins in Michigan and goes to Texas passing through the southwest Indiana and northwest Kentucky region.  The completed corridor will connect the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.   The interstate will  cross the Ohio River 30 miles from Owensboro near Evansville and use existing parkways that have already been designated I-69 throughout western Kentucky.

US 231 opening brings Owensboro one step closer to I-64/ I-65 Corridor Connector

The completion of the four-lane US 231 from the Natcher Bridge in Owensboro to Interstate 64 in Dale, Indiana has brought the region one step closer to the interstate system.

As Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels cuts the ribbon to open the Indiana side today only a 2-mile stretch of the Owensboro By-Pass Extension project remains to complete the 100-mile, four-lane route connecting I-64 in Dale to I-65 in Bowling Green.

The Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation are marketing this new four-lane route as the Interstate 64-65 Corridor Connector.  The Owensboro exit around Kentucky 54 and the new hospital will be at the mid-point of this corridor.

"This will become Owensboro's exit on the national interstate network," said Nick Brake, President/CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp.  "The commercial development along this corridor should be significant for this region."

The Natcher Parkway will eventually become an interstate spur connecting to I-65.

"We are well on our way to transforming Owensboro from a community that has traditionally been considered somewhat 'transportation poor' to one that is fully intermodal," said Chamber of Commerce President Jody Wassmer.

I-64/ I-65 Corridor Gets Stimulus Funding

The I-65/ I-64 Corridor (U.S. 60 bypass extension project) will receive a $35.65 million boost of federal stimulus dollars that will allow construction to begin in less than a year under the proposed state road plan presented to House members Thursday.

The money would be available this fiscal year and the next to begin construction on the project from U.S. 60 to Kentucky 54 and providing access to the new Owensboro Medical Health System hospital planned on Daniels Lane.

The project was part of a total plan to spend $1.2 billion statewide through the end of next fiscal year on road projects using state and federal road funds, roughly $400 million in federal stimulus dollars and issuing a total of $400 million in new road bonds. 

The project will create a new north-south corridor will have a significant economic impact for the future growth of the region.   The U.S. 60 By Pass extension is part of a much bigger transportation picture that connects Interstate 64 in Spencer County, Indiana via US 231 with Interstate 65 via the Natcher Parkway in Bowling Green.