On March 11, construction began on I-69, a controversial highway construction project in Indiana. I-69 has drawn opposition from citizen groups ranging from radical environmentalists to displaced homeowners. While no homes have been destroyed yet according to the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), several trees have been cut based on this video posted on YouTube and reports from Indiana:

Ongoing efforts to resist the construction of I-69 are being organized by Roadblock Earth First. Road Block Earth First's "10 Quick Facts about I-69" summarizes opposition to the project:

1) The new road in Indiana, in the latest estimate(April 2007), will cost over $3.5 billion, a price which will only go up with the rising cost of oil.

2) The state currently has only $750 million earmarked for I-69 construction, a fact that leads many to the conclusion that the state will reinstate the idea
of a toll road.

3) Over 400 families will be evicted from their homes along the 142 miles route in Indiana alone (this number excludes families evicted in other states).

4) 7 ,000 acres of land will be paved over by construction of the new-terrain I-69 and related development: 5,300 acres of farmland, 1,510 acres of forestland, and 95 acres of wetlands. At least 400 acres of land containing karst features (caves, sinkholes, underground streams) will be damaged or disturbed.

5) The Dept. of Transportation's own study shows that over 70% of people in Indiana oppose the new road, while an independent study places that
number in the 90's, yet the governor is still pushing the project. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2008.

6) The proposed I-69 route in southwest Indiana will only save 10-14 minutes on a trip to Indianapolis in comparison to current routes.

7) The proposed highway, being part of a huge free trade infrastructure plan, will bring thousands of new trucks and cars through southwest Indiana each
day, further increasing air, land, and water pollution in an already heavily polluted region.

8) I-69 cannot bring big industry to southwest Indiana, as its supporters claim, because most counties in the area are already in non-attainment of Federal
Clean Air Act laws. There's no guarantee of distribution centers either, because hundreds of other cities along the route provide lucrative locations.

9) I-69 already exists from the Michigan/Canada border to Indianapolis, and serves as a major artery for international free trade between the U.S. and
Canada

10) I-69 is part of the "NAFTA Superhighway" plan, which includes similar infrastructure projects in South America (IIRSA), Central America and
Mexico (Plan Puebla-Panama), and Canada (Atlantica). It is meant to provide multi-national corporations a more cost-effective way to move goods and
capital throughout each country, not to mention allowing them to cheaply exploit the natural resources of Latin America.

Additionally, on April 9, the Bloom Collective here in Grand Rapids will host a presentation by Root Force a group that looks at the relationship between infrastructure development, globalization, and colonialism. The presentation is scheduled for 7:00pm at the Bloom Collective, 1134 Wealthy Street SE.