Camden Council president Pete Wagoner announced at last Thursday's council meeting that he presented a formal request to the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) that it take over responsibility for completing the SR 75 extension northward from Camden to connect with the Hoosier Heartland Highway (HHH).

The request was made at a meeting held earlier that day of the Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor committee in Peru.

Wagoner said in his letter that the Town of Camden is advocating extending SR 75 northward to connect with the HHH at a grade-separated interchange.

SR 75 terminates at its intersection with SR 218 in downtown Camden. The letter points out that old plans exist showing INDOT once intended to build SR 75 on north to SR 24 in Burnettsville.

Extending 75 approximately three miles as a county road to the planned interchange is currently being pursued as a Carroll County Highway Department project.

"Money allocated by the county for the engineering study is only about one-third what is required," said Wagoner Thursday night. The county does not have the funds to see the project through.

"For meaningful economic development in the central part of the county, asking INDOT to complete the project is the only viable plan," he added.

Wagoner and other county officials believe the extension of 75 to the HHH will benefit the entire county.