PETERSBURG — If there was one piece of advice given for towns near I-69, it is build now.

The advice, given by University of Southern Indiana Economics Professors Sudesh Mujumdar and Tim Schibik, was presented Wednesday at the Pike County Courthouse. The study, including cities of Washington, Petersburg and Oakland City, was funded partly by the City of Washington and the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation.

Mujumdar said if the three cities want to stay vibrant when I-69 gets here, the planning has to start today.

“Communities that act rapidly or quickly to make infrastructure investments like water, sewer, improving school quality and communities that work together right way, they saw the biggest gains from the highway construction,” Mujumdar said. “Those who wait to see what will happen, they didn’t see much benefit. Some actually suffered.”

Mujumdar and Schibik used three areas that had interstates built in the past 20 years, Garrett County, Md., Twiggs County, Ga., and Hale County, Texas. From analysis of those three communities, they found that cities along I-69 have to build up their infrastructure, acquire land, work with county government, improve schools and make information to industries readily available.

In Maryland, Garrett County started planning early, according to Mujumdar and Schibik. They used their undeveloped land, something this area has, and people started buying vacation homes there.

“They couldn’t envision they would become a vacation destination,” Schibik said.

A different story happened in Twiggs County, Ga., where the county did not prepare for I-16, an interstate from Savannah to Macon that ran through its county. After the interstate was built, the county lost 21 percent of its employment and jobs and its tax base headed to Macon in the 90s.

“It wasn’t that bad because they chose to live in (Twiggs County) and drive to Macon, but if gas prices then were like we have today, many would have chose to move,” Mujumdar said. “That’s something to keep in mind when planning ahead.”

The final example, Hale County in Texas, turned its community from a competitor to a “bedroom community.” Close to Tyler, Texas, the economists said the county improved its schools and revitalized its downtown. The improvements drew in more residents and created a higher tax base.

“Evansville is going to be extremely reachable to you folks,” Schibik said. “People are going to be looking around and wanting a place to raise their children. A place with good schools. That happens now, but it will become greater.”

One audience member asked if it is imprudent to have a tax base around a bedroom community. Schibik said in the long term, industry follows what the labor force will give to them.

“If you have a good labor force, then the industry will follow,” Schibik said.

The economists said the process of planning and possibly reinventing a community is long term and some changes may even be small to keep the community you have, staying.

“You have to be sensitive to the communities you are in and you can’t change things too much in some ways,” Schibik said. “You don’t necessarily want to jump out and be something that’s radically different. That will make nobody happy.”