The State Road 25 (SR 25) Hoosier Heartland project is currently in the design phase. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was published in August 2002 with three public hearings held along the corridor in October of that year. Public and participating agency comments on the DEIS were addressed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The FEIS was approved by the Indiana Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration on November 10, 2004. Final Design Summaries for all segments should be completed by the end of 2009.

Preferred Alternative Recommended

On January 22, 2003, the late Governor Frank O'Bannon announced Alternative 2 as the preferred alternative for the Hoosier Heartland Highway between Logansport and Lafayette. The recommendation was based on the alternative’s ability to meet the project’s purpose and need, environmental design considerations, and input received during the public comment period.

As reflected in the different color segments on the preferred alternative maps 1-4, the project was divided into four segments—Western, Central, Eastern and Logansport—for environmental evaluation. The Western Segment extends from I-65 to just east of the Tippecanoe/Carroll County line, the Central Segment from that point to just east of Carroll County Road (CR) 400W, the Eastern Segment from that point to Cass CR 300S, and the Logansport Segment from that point to US 35/24 at Logansport. Alternative alignments were developed in each of the segments and combined in all possible ways to produce Build Alternatives 1 – 4, evaluated in the DEIS.

Preferred Alternative 2 is composed of the following build alternative sections: O-WA1 (Western Segment), P-CA1 (Central Segment), P-EA (Eastern Segment), and Y-LA (Logansport Segment). That preferred route parallels the existing Norfolk Southern Railroad for much of the length through Tippecanoe County, and is on the north side of the Norfolk Southern Railroad from Delphi to just west of Clymers, thereby using 11.5 miles of the existing SR 25 right-of-way.

Interchanges

Since the publication of the DEIS and the selection of the preferred alternative, based upon public input, INDOT determined that two interchanges should be built in place of at-grade intersections as shown in the DEIS. One interchange will serve as a community gateway to Logansport via Burlington Avenue, and the other will connect with US 421 southeast of Delphi.

Record of Decision and Construction

The interchange review and decision delayed progress on completing the environmental study, but INDOT now projects a Record of Decision from the Federal Highway Administration this winter, which will permit the highway to move into the final design stage of development. That stage will be followed by right of way acquisition and construction. It typically takes 3-5 years for a project to reach construction following those project steps. The 35.26-mile SR 25 Lafayette-Logansport roadway is estimated to cost $245 million to build.

As noted above, the project was divided into four segments for evaluation. These segments will be retained through the design and construction phases. They will each develop at their own speed, based upon the unique requirements of each segment. As a result, at this time it is not possible to accurately predict which segment would be constructed first.