Efforts underway to get new road to go through Orange Co.

mid-state-corridor-5-route-map

         An advocacy group is pushing for the Mid States Corridor to go through French Lick.

        Public hearings on the proposed highway to link the Ohio River north on 231 in Spencer County to I-69 at Washington, Crane or Bloomington are going on this week. There was a hearing in Bedford last night and another in Jasper tonight.

        The French Lick Parkway Coalition represents Bloomington based Cook Group, the French Lick Springs Hotel, West Baden and West Baden Springs Hotel.  They support what’s called Route 0 which goes north from Spencer County past Huntingburg and Jasper and then northeast to French Lick to Bedford to Bloomington and I69.

        Chuck Franz is President of Cook Group.  He told Inside Indiana Business that the number one thing they hear is that Orange County is hard to get to whether from the north or south.  A study commissioned by the coalition said the route through French Lick would create up 700 new jobs for Orange and Lawrence Counties.

        Five routes are being discussed with 10 alternatives on those routes.   Find out more by going to midstatescorridor.com.  A public hearing on the project is tonight at Jasper Middle School with doors opening at 5:30.