Eric Durcholz - Comments

I, Eric Durcholz, made public comments during a meeting on historic properties impacted by this project as we found out through their surveying of this area that my father’s home is eligible to be listed on the historic registry. My wife and I are also my father’s neighbor less than 1/4 mile away on a private lane. We live in a completely private, quiet, serene slice of paradise right outside Jasper city limits. We attended the Dubois County council meeting in opposition when they voted to contribute money towards the Tier 1 study. I think that council room would have been overflowing as they have been over the last year had people really understood what was happening. We’ve been against the project from the start, when our public officials donated money to Tier 1 study, and we are still against the project. It doesn't matter where the road ends up going, it's going to destroy our current landscape completely. As of October 2025, the project office has now identified two alternatives to avoid taking my father’s homes/barns since they are historic and meet two of the criteria. The properties are reflective of Dubois County's early German settlement. 1. Alternative 2B goes west of his home and will separate our home from his home and no longer allow us to walk back and forth to each other's homes. My father takes care of mowing our lawn and regularly stops by our home to chat, eat dinner, watch games, etc. My father and I both fish regularly in the area and if the road goes west of his home, it will take his detached garage used to store fishing equipment. In addition to negatively impacting access between our homes, alternative 2B route will land lock my father, Steve Durcholz and will not have water, electricity, etc. We completely OPPOSE alternative 2B. 2. Alternative 3B goes east of my father’s home and has less of an impact on our neighboring family homes. If the road moves forward, alternative 3B is the route that Steve Durcholz, Eric Durcholz, and Marisa Durcholz all prefer as this will allow us to continue to be able to walk to one another's homes. If alternative 3B is chosen not only would this benefit two current homeowners directly impacted by this road but also appears it would avoid destroying/taking two homes on Trainer Lane. We do not think this road is necessary and we believe it is a gross misuse and waste of taxpayer's money. This road will separate many small towns in Dubois County from the larger cities of Huntingburg and Jasper. Dubois County is special for a reason. Young people continue to go away to college and return here when they begin their family for many reasons, but major road access is NOT one of them. We don't want to become another Evansville or Bloomington. Families enjoy the smaller rural community with good schools, great parks, as well as great shopping and eateries for a smaller community. In addition to destroying thousands of acres of beautiful farmland and the rural landscape, building this road could have a NEGATIVE impact on both Jasper and Huntingburg's historical downtowns that they've worked hard to renovate and build up. Building a bypass road is going to divert a lot of drive through traffic away from our lovely downtowns where many people would have stopped to eat or shop. For the tiny amount of congestion we may have, simply adding a couple of passing lanes in specific areas could help. Our area was supposed to receive money for US 231 upgrades, but since that announcement from Gov Holcomb (quote from Indiana Business below) nothing has happened because that mysteriously got combined with the mid-states corridor since it's in the same project area. This was not fair to the taxpayers in this area to lump US 231 upgrades in with this project that was at the time several years away. The article stated that construction would begin in 2022 - we are now in 2026 with no improvements and now INDOT wants Dubois County, Jasper, and Huntingburg to take over US 231 so they move on and build a new road, so I guess we'll never get passing lanes we were promised! "The state will invest $75 million for the design and construction of additional travel lanes, passing lanes and intersection improvements atspecific locations along a 48-mile stretch of U.S. 231 between I-64 and I-69. The governor’s office says the improvements will “significantly reduce” congestion in the Jasper and Huntingburg areas. Construction is expected to begin by late 2022." Holcomb Announces $475M in Infrastructure Projects – Inside INdiana Business Thank you for considering comments from citizens of this area. Many surveys and petitions show this project is heavily opposed!