Bi-State Advocacy Effort for I-69 Bridge Announced - Feb. 15, 2011
Two groups credited with helping move the Interstate 69 project forward have joined forces to hire a federal lobbyist to further their work. C-LINK and Hoosier Voices for I-69 will employ the lobbying services of Appian Advisors starting March 1st.
“Hiring a lobbyist represents a major step for us,” says Joe Miller, chair of C-LINK. “We believe it’s time to take that next step with our I-69 advocacy on the federal level.”
“There’s been a lot of I-69 progress in both Indiana and Kentucky the past three years,” adds Jeff Mulzer, chair of Hoosier Voices for I-69. “We’re excited about this new partnership with C-LINK, while maintaining our advocacy efforts in Indiana under the leadership of Steve Schaefer, our executive director since 2006.”
This spring, more than 60 miles of construction of I-69 will be underway in Indiana with the plan to have the project completed between Evansville and Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center by the end of 2012. In Kentucky, legislators added eight I-69 projects to the state’s road plan in 2010. A project manager was named for the project for the first time, and the state is currently working with the FHWA to determine what upgrades will be required for the three parkways in western Kentucky that will become I-69.
According to Miller and Mulzer, Appian Advisors will focus primarily on the new Ohio River bridge that will connect I-69 between the two states. Legislation enacted in 2009 by the Kentucky General Assembly creating an infrastructure authority has provided a framework for constructing “mega-projects” like the I-69 bridge.
“We need someone like Appian who knows the right people in Indianapolis, Frankfort and Washington D.C. to start ‘connecting the dots’ for the new bridge,” adds Miller. “The sooner that happens, the sooner the bridge can be designed and built.”
Dennis Faulkenberg, formerly the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer of the Indiana Department of Transportation and a nationally-recognized transportation funding advisor, is the principal of Appian Advisors. Both C-LINK and Hoosier Voices will be meeting with government and private industry and business to raise funds for the lobbying arrangement.
C-LINK (Chamber Leadership Initiatives for Northwestern Kentucky) was formed in 2007 and is an alliance of 12 chambers of commerce in northwestern Kentucky. Hoosier Voices for I-69 is a public advocacy coalition comprised of citizens, businesses and organizations from across Indiana that was originally formed in 1991.
For more information on C-LINK, please visit www.buildi69-ky.com.
For more information on Hoosier Voices for I-69, please visit www.buildi69.com.
