The Interior Department has become the second federal agency to back the use of current highway routes for I-69 south of Indianapolis, The Associated Press reported Dec. 6.

Officials with the agency say the highway should follow I-70 and U.S. 41 between Indianapolis and Evansville.

In late November, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed an alternative route for the southward extension of I-69. The EPA proposed that the new highway, part of a NAFTA superhighway planned from Canada to Mexico, should run southwest along Indiana Highway 37 from Indianapolis to Bloomington, then west to U.S. 41, which it would then follow to Vincennes and Evansville.

The EPA proposed its version of the route, which includes parts of the five alternatives studied by the state, because of concern over the road's effect on wetlands in the southern part of the state. The state's alternatives, displayed on the DOT's Web site, include a significant amount of new construction.

The Indiana Department of Transportation's top choices did not include the I-70/U.S. 41 route, AP said, because officials at the department think that route would not be as effective in reducing travel time and spurring economic growth.

The Indiana situation isn't the only holdup faced by promoters of I-69. The Washington Times reported earlier this week that since Congress authorized the construction of I-69 In 1997, little pavement has been laid since because of state-level disputes - such as Indiana's - about where to locate sections of the highway.

The Department of Transportation will ask Congress next year for $6.6 billion for I-69 as part of reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, James Newland, executive director of the I-69 Mid-Continent Highway Coalition, told the newspaper. The remaining funding would come from matching funds by individual states.

Roger Manning, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, told AP state officials were expected to announce their choice for the route this month.