The Central Triangle

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Indianapolis

Cincinnati

Louisville

All three cities are of a moderately large size and inhabit a modestly large quantity of people.

The cities themselves are a blend of being in line with the major proposed routes and not.  As a matter of incorporating one or more nearby cities into a cohesive part of the national framework, methods of incorporating them had to be developed.

Whereas the Western Triangle has three very large metropolitan bodies, and Texas has 3 large cities and a leg that connects several other cities, the Central Triangle consists of large but-not-that-large destination targets.  As a means of making the whole of the area a destination, it is proposed to interconnect the three primary cities listed, and expand the regional network as a matrix, so each city can be connected directly to each other.

By interconnecting several cities on or off the main nationsl route, it provides traffic to the national scheme and vice versa, while simultaneously stimulating travel between the regional connections.

Upon the establishment of the primary 3, additional cities can be incorporated within an interstate regional network.

Primary route:

Indianapolis to Columbus

"Indianapolis to Columbus?! But Columbus isn't on the list!"

You're right.  Columbus is not part of the primary matrix.  However, Indianapolis to Columbus is the line by which the northern East-West Transcontinental line runs, which is to be built largely piecemeal.  The Indianapolis to Columbus line also includes Dayton, which is also not on the Triangle list.  The issue is that it's not really a triangle.  It is a series of triangles.

Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Louisville are the ideal candidates for a triangle, with Cincinnati being the "center" of a larger scheme.  Without a connection to the broader national network, the triangle will not be fed by national traffic.  The Indianapolis to Columbus line ought to be built first, with connections to Cincinnati from Dayton and Columbus.  From there, Cincinnati can be connected to Louisville, Louisville can be connected to Indianapolis, and...Cincinnati can simply be connected to Louisville and Columbus and Dayton, but the connection to Indianapolis would be superfluous given its other connections and the range to Indianapolis.  There is no grand impetus to connect Cincinnati and Indianapolis directly.

In effect, on a map the "Triangle" looks like it's Indianapolis, Columbus, and Louisville, with Cincinnati being a pass-through, and that would be correct.  However, Columbus is important for two reasons only:

1.  It is on line with the east-west alignment from Indianapolis

2. It is on line and geographically suited as a connection from Louisville - Cincinnati - Columbus - Cleveland

Cincinnati, Louisville, and Indianapolis are the anchors of the "triangle" despite Cincinnati and Indianapolis not being directly connected.  Eventually, Indianapolis and Cincinnati will be directly connected as part of the regional network, but it won't be the immediate impetus for building this "triangle matrix", and should be resisted until the larger grid is constructed.