The Southwest Indiana Highway Corridor

Introduction

 The Southwest Indiana Highway Corridor is one of the major highways in the United States serving five regions with the main aim of economic development .Each region is assigned an economic policy based on the travelers demand for various activities. The project started earlier in the year 2005 and currently residents of those regions have started enjoying the benefits of the Highway.

 Economic Impacts

 Economic benefits can be classified in different categories depending on the mode of utilization. After the upgrade of the highway various benefits merged such as Travelers time saving whereby the travelers would save time to move from one place to another.

 More job opportunity emerged because more market and other form of business emerged during the construction and after construction, thus more people were employed which led to improvement of their living standard. there was also increased business output as more investments activities emerged.

 It led to Urbanization as many industries and infrastructural equipments were greatly modernized which finally resulted to the general development of the regions. On the other hand there was access to modern technology as various forms of communication and transportation infrastructure were introduced.

 It reduced traffic congestion in the regions as many vehicles preferred to use the main path which also reduced various forms of pollution such as noise and air pollution. This led to a reduction of degradation environment.

 It has become a major tourist sight attraction as many tourists across the globe gather there daily and this brings in foreign income. This income is used to finance and promote economical projects. Across this region hotels and lodges have been built to cater for the increasing demand caused by the tourism industries.

 However there are those positive and negative impacts as a result of the development of this highway. The highway has resulted to low labor cost as many people now have graduated to soft jobs which are easier to perform. It has also led to the introduction of alternative energy whereby people now have access to electricity energy and natural gas.

 Measures

Various measures need to be considered such as government support through financial support, environmental conditions should also be considered in order to meet the demand requirements which will have a good impact to the business activities. There should be adequate utility services such as electricity and water in order to meet the demand of the population. There is also a need to have skilled personals in order to meet the standards required to maintain and develop infrastructure.

 Conclusions

 The Highway has contributed to the general economic growth. It has resulted to general growth in many sectors such as tourist industry, creation of jobs, improved level of technology, high rate of urbanization due to establishment of various forms of industry and improved living standard. Therefore the highway plays an important role in economic development. However despite the major advantages associated with the highway there are those negative effects that the highway introduced such as environmental degradation due to human activity, increased pollution and other negative impacts associated with urbanization such as congestion. The government however has a role to play in ensuring that there is proper maintenance and development of the highway through finance and hiring qualified individuals to maintain the highway.

  References:

Case study on the Economic Impacts of the Southwest Indiana Highway Corridor