The $4.4 million recommendation will now go before the full House for consideration. Funding would be used to complete the new highway from Indiana 66 to the Dubois County border.

“This funding will accelerate improvements to U.S. 231, which will greatly improve the transportation network in Southwestern Indiana,” Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., said in a news release.

Draft environmental impact statements for the project are nearly complete, according to officials at the Indiana Department of Transportation. Consultants were selected in August for preliminary design of the highway. The total project cost is estimated at $100 million.

“It could be as early as five years (to begin),” said Tim Miller, INDOT project manager for the U.S. 231 relocation. “We expect to be in the Spencer County area … this spring to conduct public hearings. It’s nearing completion.”

The new highway will be built in five phases, with work expected to begin by 2003.