Interstate 65 widening gets $20 million federal boost

The Interstate 65 road project between Walesboro and Columbus is getting a boost of federal dollars.

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., is announcing that the project will receive a $20 million dollar grant from the Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development fund. He says the project will increase the capacity of the interstate by reconstructing the existing travel lanes and adding a third travel lane in each direction. There will also be replacement of the superstructure of the bridges over I-65 at Carr Hill Road and County Road 200S.

Indiana’s Next Level Roads project on Interstate 65 is already widening the highway between Walesboro and Seymour to six lanes. That is a $143 million dollar project and included resurfacing of the section of the interstate between Columbus and Walesboro, but not the road widening there.