Scott Tibbs

Herald-Times
August 5, 2006

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Mike Sodrel getting things done

Monroe County badly needs another east-west thoroughfare. With the impending construction of I-69 and the likelihood that Fullerton Pike will get an interchange, Fullerton Pike is ideal for this needed project. It is especially important to improve traffic flow on Fullerton Pike with the construction of the new Monroe Hospital, because a short amount of travel time to the hospital can be the difference between life and death.

Monroe County does not have enough money for this project, even with the County Commissioners' bipartisan 3-0 vote to approve a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district for the project. Thankfully, Congressman Mike Sodrel has stepped up to the plate in Washington, D.C. Sodrel secured $500,000 in federal matching funds for the Fullerton Pike project.

This is not the only money that Mike Sodrel has brought to Monroe County. Last November, the House and Senate passed an appropriations bill that included $1,800,000 for a Bloomington Transit park-and-ride program, on top of $4,000,000 approved for the same plan just a few months earlier.

We will all benefit from the money that Sodrel has secured for transportation infrastructure in Bloomington and Monroe County. Mike Sodrel is truly "getting things done for us." Thanks Mike!

Scott Tibbs