Indiana not yet ready to open I-69 section delayed 1 year

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - State highway officials say they're not ready to say when the latest section of southern Indiana's Interstate 69 extension will open to traffic.

The Indiana Department of Transportation hoped to have the 27-mile section that will run from the community of Crane into Bloomington open by late 2014, but weather and construction delays pushed that back one year.

INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield tells The Herald-Times (http://bit.ly/1QSXNS4 ) that virtually all travel lanes of the new stretch have now been paved, but shoulder work, lane striping, guardrail placement and other work is still underway.

Wingfield says INDOT is working with contractors to set a specific date for the opening.

The first half of the 142-mile Evansville-to-Indianapolis I-69 extension opened in 2012. It runs 67 miles from near Evansville to the Crane area.

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Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com