The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), US, has awarded $90m contract to Gohmann Asphalt & Construction to build the section 4 of the Interstate 69 (I-69) in the state to improve mobility and economy of the region.

Gohmann, under the contract, will construct a new 6.5 miles of interstate between Harmony Road in Monroe County and Carmichael Road in Greene County and build the Greene/Monroe County Line Interchange.

Section 4 of the corridor will connect US route 231 near the Crane Naval Warfare Center to the existing four-lane state road 37 south of Bloomington.

INDOT Major Programs deputy commissioner Samuel Sarvis said by the end of 2012 the department will have completed 67 miles of new interstate highway.

"An additional 27 miles will have begun construction this year," Sarvis added.

"It is exciting to know residents of southwest Indiana are only a few short years from having a quality four-lane, divided interstate from Evansville to Bloomington."

INDOT is expecting section 4 of the corridor to be open to traffic by the end of 2014.

The 142-mile corridor of I-69 between Evansville and Indianapolis was divided into six sections by the December 2003 Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Study and was approved by the Federal Highway Administration.

IDOT is developing I-69 as a part of Major Moves highway programme to capitalise on Indiana’s strategic location as the Crossroads of America by improving and expanding road infrastructures to assist economy and greater mobility.