Highway Investigations

WASHINGTON, IND. (WTHI) -      An interstate project through southern Indiana is now under investigation on both the state and federal level.

     The Federal Highway Administration is looking at prices the state paid to land owners along I69.

     In addition the Indiana's Ethics Commission taking a fresh look at payments made to Deputy INDOT Commissioner Troy Woodruff and his family for highway land.

    The questions about the land deals, though, aren't stopping development plans for a communities along the road.

     I69 has been open for only a few months, but already there are questions about land deals along the highway's corridor in Daviess County.

     Local officials believe the investigation it the right thing to do.

     "These things need to looked at," said Ron Arnold with the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation.  "You want them done the right way.  Whether they were or not, I'm certainly not in a position to say."

     What officials here are in a position to say something about is the effort to try and get the most they can from the new highway.

     "We're driving on with our zoning, with our building plans, with our land use study," said Washington Mayor Joe Wellman.  "I think the ethics thing is a separate piece of the puzzle on the state level.  It doesn't affect us here."

     I69 is complete  in Washington and all the way through Daviess County, but just 20 miles to the north the highway is still under construction.

  Local officials say they believe the project will be completed despite the issues raised by the investigation.

     "I think the economic impact and the reason the highway was built still very much hold true," said Arnold.  "I can list 2 projects now.  One we've announced. One we're getting ready to announce that's $20-million in investment and 100 jobs over the next several years."

     Projects that have been produced by the highway so far, and the kind local leaders want to attract while the ethics issue is weighed by state and federal officials.
 
     Federal Highway officials say they have completed their investigation and are now analyzing the results.