NICTD requests New Starts entry for Double Track project

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) has formally requested that the Double Track Northwest Indiana project, which would expand the South Shore Line from single track to double track between Gary and Michigan City, Ind., enter into the New Starts engineering phase of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Program.

NICTD says the project will deliver reliability, shorter travel times, increased frequency and enhanced safety. It includes 17 miles of new track, four new bridges, station and parking improvements at five South Shore Line stations, street-running track removal, new track installation that is separated from the roadway in Michigan City and the closure of 21 at-grade crossings in Michigan City.

“The Double Track project will transform the physical and economic landscape of the northwest Indiana region and catalyze growth in communities served by the South Shore Line,” said Michael Noland, NICTD president and CEO. “This project is uniquely positioned to move forward with federal support because our exemplary partnership model includes local and state investment.”

NICTD explains that it has worked with its partners and with FTA to deliver on the requirements for the CIG program, including:

• Selected a locally preferred alternative
• Adopted local partnership agreements into the fiscally constrained metropolitan
• transportation plan
• Completed the environmental review process
• Prepared sufficient information for FTA to develop a project rating 
• Obtained commitment of at least 30 percent of the non-CIG funding
• Completed at least 30 percent design and engineering, including documentation at appropriate level of detail 

NICTD has one project in the CIG program, the West Lake Corridor project, which is an eight-mile extension of the South Shore Line from Hammond to Dyer, Ind. The project is currently in the project development phase of the CIG program.

According to the most recent update of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority’s (RDA) Comprehensive Strategic Plan, the Double Track and West Lake Corridor projects may attract approximately $2.3 billion in private investment to northwest Indiana, create more than 6,000 new jobs and provide $3 billion in economic impact by 2048.

“These projects will be game-changers for the region and the state,” said Bill Hanna, president and CEO of the RDA. “By increasing our connectivity to Chicago, the third-largest metro area in the country, commuter rail will drive job creation and economic development in northwest Indiana.”