EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The route that environmentalists have backed for the Interstate 69 extension between Indianapolis and Evansville is not among the five that state officials said Wednesday they preferred.

        That route would follow Interstate 70 from Indianapolis to Terre Haute and then use portions of the existing four-lane U.S. 41 south to Evansville, requiring the least amount of new road construction.

        Environmentalists contend it would be less expensive and do less damage to farmland and forests than the others.

        Although at an estimated $930 million it is the cheapest, it would require the most businesses to move and rated poorly when factors such as reducing travel time and spurring economic growth in southwestern Indiana were considered, state highway Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol said.

        “We could not in good conscience take that one forward,” Mr. Nicol said. “We have to look at the entire picture. We're presenting the entire picture to the public.”

        State officials on Wednesday released a detailed study of the five corridors proposed last year for the highway. The study looks at factors such as environmental impact, cost, economic growth, and traffic-related issues such as travel time and freight movement.

        It then identified 12 possible routes and designated five of them as preferred routes.

        The announcement drew immediate criticism from the Hoosier Environmental Council.

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