It probably wasn’t a coincidence that Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman wore a green jacket to officially give the U.S. 31 Kokomo bypass a green light Friday.

After 16 years of planning, making plans, building consensus, paying consultants and surveying land, the Indiana Department of Transportation is finally ready to move ahead with the $344 million project.

“This is a major milestone. I joined INDOT in 1959, and for many of the years since then, U.S. 31 through Kokomo has been a problem,” said INDOT deputy commissioner Bill Rinard during a press conference at Kokomo Municipal Airport. “I didn’t think we’d ever see a resolution.”

In her hand, however, Skillman held the final approval for the massive project, signed Monday by Robert F. Tally Jr., Indiana Division administrator for the Federal Highway Administration, approving the final route for the eastern bypass around Kokomo.

“For those of you who routinely fight traffic in that section through Kokomo — and that would be us today — today is a day to celebrate,” Skillman said.

“The 15 signals that disrupt the free flow of traffic will be soon be gone. Dozens of dangerous intersections that contribute to higher-than-normal accident rates will be a thing of the past,” she said.

Funding for the project will come courtesy of the 75-year lease the state signed with the consortium that will run the Indiana Toll Road, better known as the Major Moves program.

Over the next 10 years, the state is expected to spend $1 billion of the $3.85 billion collected from the lease arrangement on the U.S. 31 corridor between South Bend and Indianapolis.

A federal Record of Decision, like the one Skillman presented for Kokomo Friday, has already been signed for the congested stretch of U.S. 31 in northern Marshall and southern St. Joseph counties, and that stretch will be the first area to see actual construction.

Kokomo will be next, with construction slated to begin in 2009.

INDOT spokesman Andy Dietrick said final design work will begin immediately on the Kokomo corridor, which will begin two miles south of Ind. 26 and end one mile north of the U.S. 35 junction (450 North), a distance of 12 miles.

The state has budgeted between $22 million and $26 million for land acquisition on the project, and Dietrick said the state’s fast-track goal is to have the acquisition completed by next year.

Local property owners in the affected corridor could begin receiving purchase offers from the state within a few months, although the “actual acquisition could still be a year away,” Dietrick said.

Detailed maps of the corridor have been available for months on the project Web site, www.us31kokomo.com, and give a fairly accurate description of where the actual road will go.

The corridor shown superimposed on the aerial maps is about 400 feet wide. According to the Record of Decision summary, the actual road will be 154 feet wide, not counting any ditches on either side of the road. One project consultant said Friday the actual road corridor will probably be between 250-300 feet wide.

INDOT will hold public meetings over the next two years to discuss the highway’s design and receive input from citizens.

Skillman said the new bypass is a major economic development initiative for the entire state.

“This new highway will save time and allow economic development to flourish,” Skillman said. “Northern and central Indiana will become even more attractive to businesses who want to establish or expand their operations. Good transportation infrastructure will help us keep the good paying jobs we already have, and allow us to add thousands of new ones.”

Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com