SPENCER — Southeastern Owen County is poised for a population boom.

Home to a new golf course and new elementary school, the area is accessible to Indianapolis via Ind. 67 and has attracted commuters.

But much of the area's growth is expected to come on the Ind. 46 corridor, especially when the 46 widening project is completed next year.

The project will permit traffic to flow freely from just west of Ellettsville — a short skip east of Owen County's rolling hills — across Ind. 37 and all the way into Bloomington's College Avenue and Walnut Street just west of Indiana University's Memorial Stadium.

The area already is experiencing a growth spurt that has caused property values to spike, and resulted in strings of new homes going up on the eastern side of the county.

Clay and Washington townships have seen the most growth, with Clay growing about a third in the 10 years from 1990 to 2000.

Washington Township, most of which lies north of Ind. 46, grew about 15 percent.

Spencer, the county seat of Owen County and the biggest town in the county, lost people over the same time span although it is on the western side of growing Washington Township.

Most of the rural subdivisions that dot eastern Owen consist of a dozen or so modern brick homes with pastoral views of undulating hills, a few homes sporting horses munching contentedly in a fenced-in area.

Now, with completion of the 46 project on the horizon, the area might be well on its way to experiencing more serious growth.

The $44.8 million road widening project, which includes a paired one-way system through downtown Ellettsville and a wide multi-lane highway from Ellettsville east to a new Ind. 37 interchange, is expected to be complete in 2003.

For residents who would commute to Monroe County, Owen's lower housing costs, coupled with the shortened drive time from Owen County, might be a strong lure.

For example, a new three-bedroom, two-bath home in rural Owen could cost between $80,000 and $100,000, while the same home in rural Monroe County could easily approach $150,000.

Eastern Owen resident Jamie Loughead, a pharmacist at CVS in Ellettsville, lives with his wife in a 4-year-old house just off County Road 450 East, or County Line Road.

In the two years he's lived near the new golf course, he's witnessed how much busier the county roads have become.

"I've heard this is one of the fastest-growing areas in Owen County," he said. "We've been here two years and there's already eight or nine houses that have been built since we've been here."

He said he and friends often travel County Line Road early in the mornings before going deer hunting, and have noticed the traffic becoming much heavier.

"Driving that road at 5 a.m., in just four miles we could meet as many as 15 cars or so," Loughead said. "And it's just getting busier all the time."

Gloria Canada, an Owen County resident who works as a Realtor at F.C. Tucker's Bloomington office, said she's fully expecting the area to have a burst of growth just after 46 is completed.

"Now's a good time to buy property before it goes up when the road's done," she said. "A few years ago, Spencer had a lot of growth. That's slowed down. People are staying away because of the road work, but that'll change."

She lives only 13 miles from Bloomington, but she expects that once 46 is done, the speedier drive will clip 10 minutes off her commute.

"I'll be able to drive 50 miles per hour the whole way, and won't have to slow down for people turning," Canada said.

The road will go from a two-lane, with many left turns that routinely back up traffic, to a wide expanse of road with turn lanes for the many businesses and shops that line the road.

Owen resident Joe Freeman, who lives about a mile south of Spencer, said he's been seeing a lot of new homes going up.

"There's been a lot of building going on for the last few years," he said.

Once the Ind. 46 project is completed, Washington Township trustee Fred McBride — who has served in that capacity for 24 years — is hoping some of the housing boom will rub off on his township.

"I think Clay Township has grown the fastest over the last 10 years," he said. "They're closer to Bloomington. But once they finish that road, I'm hoping it might bring some of that our way."

Clay Township trustee Karen Freeman said she's watched the boom both in her official capacity and from the seat of the school bus she drives every morning and afternoon.

"I know part of the growth is because we don't have zoning," she said. "But traffic has increased a lot. We see lots of Boston and Cook people from Greene County and people coming from Spencer to Bloomington. The amount of traffic just amazes me."

She predicts the area will continue to grow once 46 is completed.

"We're getting closer to Bloomington all the time," she said.