In my opinion….
SR 75 Extension Project will help county to grow

With the Hoosier Heartland Highway (HHH) project funded and scheduled to be completed through Carroll County over the next few years, a narrow window is now open that would provide Camden, Flora and Carroll County a chance to benefit economically if a companion project was to be aggressively pursued that would extend SR 75 northward about three miles to connect with the HHH. This would be an Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) managed project, but would not be part of the HHH and would require separate funding (80% federal and 20% county).

The Town of Camden has voiced its strong support for such a project and INDOT has responded quite favorably. INDOT feels extending SR 75 would be a worthwhile pursuit for Carroll County and they are evaluating alternatives to provide connectivity to the HHH/SR 25. However, to make such a highway project happen will require strong, unified support from our county commissioners and county Economic Development Corp.

The only reason the Town of Camden supports a SR 75 extension project is the real potential for industrial/commercial development in the area near the SR 75/HHH connection site. This area would be adjacent to the N&W Railroad, sufficient open land is available and this could be an ideal site for future development, creating many new, badly needed jobs in our county.

To help make such a possibility become reality, the Town of Camden is prepared to pursue an extension of its municipal water and wastewater services to this site whenever a decision can be made to move ahead with a SR 75 Extension Project. An engineering feasibility study has already been completed that confirmed such a utility project would be technically feasible and cost justifiable. Extending municipal utilities northward from Camden would also offer excellent opportunities for new residential development, expanding the town's footprint in that direction.

The SR 75 corridor (10 miles either side) between Lebanon, Frankfort, Flora and Camden contains a significant portion of the corn, soybean and pork production in Indiana. There are/will be major bio-fuel plants located in Frankfort and Clymers, a large Frito-Lay plant serves markets northeast from Frankfort, several automotive suppliers are also located in Frankfort, Lebanon is a fast-growing distribution center, and a large-scale dairy operation is being built near SR 75 in Carroll County. All of these operations would benefit from direct access to the HHH. Heavy-truck traffic originating from these sources is already starting to pass through Carroll County utilizing geo-positioned routes and existing, unimproved county roads which is damaging these roads and creating very unsafe driving conditions for some county residents.

There are clearly sound economic and safety reasons to extend/ improve SR 75 and connect it to the HHH. The possibilities for future industrial/ business growth that would likely result from this highway project are endless. The HHH project will result in profound changes to Carroll County. As local leaders we need to better prepare our county and communities to take full advantage of the potential being created for major economic development opportunities. Without an extension to SR 75, Carroll County may well see the HHH passing through the county while realizing very limited economic benefit.

We need for everyone to urge our commissioners, county council and county EDC to actively support the SR 75 Extension Project and make this once-in-a-generation opportunity become a reality for our children and grandchildren in Carroll County.
Pete Wagoner
Council President
Town of Camden