South Shore’s Michigan City Double Track Project Expected to be Completed by Thanksgiving

The South Shore commuter railroad expects to complete its double tracking project in Michigan City, Indiana, by Thanksgiving.

During a meeting of the trustees of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, management said the double-tracking work in total is more than a third done.

Management also told the trustees the West Lake Corridor project is about 10 percent completed.

The latter involves building a new line between Hammond and Dyer on a former Monon Railroad right of way.

“It’s significant, the amount of investment that’s coming out of the ground on both projects,” NICTD President Michael Noland said. “Both projects remain on track to finish up and open up on time.”

The double tracking project is expected to finish in spring 2024 while the West Lake Corridor is projected to begin service in spring 2025.

To prepare for the West Lake Corridor inauguration, the South Shore is overhauling 32 rail cars. That work is about one-quarter complete.

NITCD also plans to lease 26 rail cars from Chicago commuter rail operator Metra.

Aside from work within Michigan City, work is underway on the double-tracking project between Michigan City and the Miller station in Gary.

Noland also reported management hopes to select an engineer next month to do engineering and environmental work for a move of the South Bend International Airport station from the east side of the airport terminal to the west side.

That project would eliminate 20 highway grade crossings and reduce the travel time between Chicago and South Bend.

Funding for the project, however, has not been secured beyond the preliminary engineering work.

Loan to Help Finance West Lake Corridor

The U.S. Department of Transportation has provided a $203.3 million Rehabilitation and Improvement Program loan to help fund the West Lake Corridor Project in Northwest Indiana.

The agency is building an 8-mile extension of the South Shore Line from Hammond to Dyer, Indiana.

The loan will be used to pay for about a third of the the $852 million in eligible project costs. It was issued by USDOT’s Build America Bureau to the Indiana Finance Authority on behalf of South Shore parent agency the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.

The West Lake Corridor is being built on and along a former Monon Railroad right of way and is slated to open in 2025. It will have four new stations.

Other federal funding of the project includes a $354.6 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

South Shore Project to Begin June 1

Work is expected to get underway soon on construction of the West Lake Corridor commuter rail corridor in Northwest Indiana.

The eight-mile corridor will expand South Shore Line service from Hammond, Indiana, to Dyer, Indiana.

Michael Noland, president of the Northern Indiana Transportation Commuter District, told the agency’s board of directors that construction of the West Lake Corridor will begin June 1.

The $6.6 million project is expected to be completed within three years after construction begins.

As part of the project, workers will need to build bridges over the Grand Calumet River and various freight railroad lines in the region.

The corridor will have an intermediate station in Munster. The route uses right of way of the former Monon Railroad.

When completed, the South Shore trains will operate between Dyer and Chicago.

During the board meeting, Nolan also provided an update on the double tracking project of the main South Shore line between Michigan City and Gary.

He said work is on scheduled to be completed between Michigan City and Dune Park in Porter by the end of the year. The project will eliminate street running in Michigan City.

In the meantime, the South Shore is using buses to transport riders between the Michigan City Carroll Avenue station and Dune Park. Nolan said the bus bridge operation has carried 23,000 passengers since late February.

The next phase of the double-tracking project will involve the Dune Park-Gary segment where passengers there will rides buses as construction progresses.

The double track project is expected to be finished in 2024.

South Shore Projects Timeline Shown

Construction contracts for the double-tracking project of the South Shore commuter rail line in Indiana are expected to be awarded this spring with work starting in mid-to-late summer.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District, which oversees the South Shore, recently awarded a $17 million construction management contract to WSP USA to oversee the project.

The $491 million project involves building a second mainline track between Gary and Michigan City, Indiana.

Also included in the project is construction of four new bridges and three high-level station platforms.

NICTD head Michael Noland said that construction should get underway this fall for the West Lake Corridor project, which will create a 7.8-mile extension of the South Shore from Hammond to Dyer, Indiana.

The NICTD Board recently approved a $1 million contract with A&K Railroad Materials for the acquisition of rail.

The West Lake Corridor project is projected to cost $944.9 million with service starting in late summer or early fall 2023.

Design Firm Named for South Shore Extension

The Dallas engineering firm Jacobs has been announced as the designer of record for the West Lake Commuter Rail Corridor project in Northwest Indiana.

The 8-mile line will be build by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District between Dyer and Hammond, connecting at the latter with the South Shore Commuter line between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana.

F.H. Paschen and Ragmar Benson Joint Venture are overseeing the $935 million project, which has achieved full funding.

The line is expected to be completed in 2024 and include four new stations.

Once open the travel time between Munster/Dyer Main Street and Chicago will be 47 minutes.

Contractor Hired for South Shore Extension Project

A contractor has been hired to be part of the team building an extension of the South Shore Line in Northwest Indiana.

Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, through its subsidiary Ragnar Benson, will have a 30 percent interest in a joint venture with F.H. Paschen in the $550 million contract to build the 8-mile West Lake Corridor between Dyer and Hammond.

Groundbreaking on the project was held last week. When completed, the West Lake Corridor will offer direct service to downtown Chicago while other trains will connect in Hammond with South Shore mainline trains.

2 Chicago Firms Get South Shore Extension Contract

Two Chicago companies have been chosen to lead design and construction work of the West Lake Corridor in Indiana.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which oversee the South Shore Commuter service, chose F.H. Paschen and Ragnar Benson to receive the $555 million contract to serve as the design-build team of 8-mile line from Hammond to Dyer, Indiana.

Work is expected to begin in the fall once a grant from the Federal Transit Administration is finalized.

The FTA grant is expected to provide $355 million of the project’s $933 million cost.

South Shore Extension Work Could Start in October

Construction of an extension of the South Shore commuter line could get underway in October.

Work on the West Lake Corridor extension can get underway on that schedule if the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District can complete a grant agreement with the Federal Transit Administration in September.

The 8-mile line will link the South Shore at Hammond with Dyer, Indiana, and intermediate communities.

If construction of the line begins this fall it is expected to be completed by late 2024 with revenue service starting in early 2025.

The project is expected to cost $933 million of which $355 million will come from FTA grants.

NICTD Honored for Environmental Documentation

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District was honored by the Federal Transit Administration for excellence in environmental documentation for its West Lake Corridor project in Northwest Indiana.

In a news release, NICTD said it was recognized for preparing an environmental impact statement and record of decision for the project that reflected best practices in review processes and fulfilled requirements for content, utility and practicality in environmental documentation.

The documents were part of a submission to create a $933 million, 8-mile southern branch extension from the existing South Shore Line station in Hammond to Dyer, Indiana.

After receiving a positive rating from the FTA in October, the West Lake Corridor project was approved to enter the engineering phase of the FTA’s Capital Investment Grants program.

NICTD oversee operations of the South Shore commuter rail service between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana.

West Lake Corridor to Enter Engineering Phase

The proposed West Lake Corridor in Northwest Indiana took a step forward recently when the Federal Transit Administration approved moving the project to the engineering phase.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which oversees the South Shore commuter operation, has proposed creating an eight-mile spur from the South Shore at Hammond to Dyer via Munster.

NICTD now can now begin to receive federal grants to help pay for engineering activities, demolition and other non-construction activities, as well as procure vehicles, acquire property and perform utility relocation for the project.

To receive full funding under the federal New Starts Capital Investment Grant Program, NICTD will need to enter into a construction grant agreement.

Once completed, the West Shore extension will offer 12 peak period round trips between Dyer and Millennium Station in downtown Chicago wither another 12 off-peak trips to and from Hammond.

The target date to begin service is 2024. There will be four stations located on the extension.