I-69 Protestors Shut Down Asphalt Plant Again! : Cleveland IMC (((i)))

***URGENT UPDATE***

Fifteen I-69 opponents were arrested Monday morning blocking the entrance to Gohmann Asphalt, and need your support and solidarity. Many of them are being held on trumped up felony charges, and some of the female-bodied arrestees have been put in exceedingly unsafe situations. As of this time they are still changing the charges on the fly, and we have been unable to bail out people with serious medical conditions and people facing sexual harassment by wardesn. We are doing our best to make sure everyone is safe and get everyone out, but we need money. Any little bit helps! Donations can be made through our Paypal account on stopi69.wordpress.com

or to the I69 Legal Office, 323 S Walnut, Bloomington, Indiana, 47401

People who have been calling the jail constantly and demanding humane treatment of the arrestees have done a great service, but at this point stopping those calls would make the job of the legal support team significantly easier as we try to keep lines of communication open between us, the arrestees, and the jail/D.A.’s office. THANKS!

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This morning, over 20 citizens opposed to the construction of Interstate 69 shut down work at the Haubstadt Asphalt Yard belonging to Gohmann Asphalt & Construction, Inc. Five of the opponents locked themselves together in a circle at the yard’s gate, accompanied by five others dedicated to keeping them as comfortable as possible in the face of summer heat and the threat of police violence. With construction slated to begin this week, opponents are demanding that Gohmann immediately drop their contract for work on I-69. Additionally they demand that Gohmann and their accomplices, Riverton Trucking, Inc., drop a spurious civil suit brought against the only I-69 opponent arrested at a previous lock-down at Gohmann Asphalt’s Haubstadt facility.

Gohmann A&C is the primary contractor with the Indiana Department of Transportation for the construction of the first 1.77 miles of Section 1 of the proposed highway from Evansville to Indianapolis. Several weeks prior, five opponents chained themselves to a truck leaving Haubstadt Asphalt Yard belonging to Gohmann Asphalt & Construction, Inc.. The five—accompanied by twenty-five supporters—demanded that Gohmann drop their contract with INDOT or face continued opposition and work stoppages. Until Gohmann drops its contract, opponents will continue to hold them accountable for the evictions of farmers, the disruption of communities, and the devastation of the environment caused by I-69.

I-69 has been hotly contested for almost two decades, with voices raised against its part in the destruction of the environment, the economic prosperity of Southern Indiana communities, and the violation of Hoosiers’ property rights. Although over 70% of Indiana residents are opposed to the road, the governor and corporate interests are ramming I-69 down the throats of Southern Indiana residents in a complete subversion of the democratic process.

Over 400 families will be displaced in Southern Indiana; thousands of acres of farmland, wetlands, and wildlife refuge will be paved over; and the already-polluted tri-state area will face thousands of pounds of increased daily emissions from the increased truck traffic through the region. The interstate is ultimately intended to stretch from Canada to Mexico, linking up with an extensive network of roads being constructed there. The highway is a physical manifestation of NAFTA and other free trade agreements throughout the Americas—the same free trade agreements that have cost 31,000 jobs in Indiana alone since their beginnings in 1994.

“This road is being billed as an economic stimulus for Southern Indiana, but in fact it will only bring minimum wage jobs at truck stops and fast food joints. Meanwhile, all the other jobs are shipped to sweatshops further and further south of the border. The people of Indiana deserve better,” said Judith Mayland, a protestor at the site.

Various citizens’ groups have opposed I-69 for two decades, but with construction starting this week, opponents are stepping up the resistance in order to ensure that the will of the people is enacted.

“We’ve written letters, attended public meetings, and voted, and despite massive opposition they’re still trying to build this road,” one of the locked-down opponents said. “They haven’t listened and they haven’t listened. Now it’s time to lay our bodies on the line so that they finally get it that when we say ‘No road!’ we mean ‘No f***king road!’”

Cleveland Indy Media Center