IN: Late summer eyed for South Shore Line's West Lake completion

The South Shore Line is hoping trains will be rolling along its Monon Corridor late this summer upon completion of the West Lake Corridor project, a billion-dollar undertaking to expand commuter rail service southward from Hammond through Munster.

South Shore President Michael Noland said Monday at the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District Board of Trustees meeting that construction work is about 96% complete, and while the contractor's completion estimate is late October, he's hoping to improve that to late August or early September.

"It all is going to be depending upon the contractor and their ability to put the right resources to the project and move it closer to summer rather than Halloween," Noland said.

The project, whose contractor is a joint venture of the firms F.H. Paschen and Ragnar Benson, was slated for substantial completion in October and to start revenue service in late spring or early summer. NICTD is able to collect liquidated damages for late completion, Noland said.

Remaining work includes finishing a Main Street underpass at the railroads southern terminus and station on the Munster/ Dyer town line. The road will go under the commuter and CSX freight tracks in order for traffic to reach the parking lot, and station, on the west side of the tracks.

Other work includes what Noland called the project's "more complex activities," including signals and PTC systems, grade crossing protections, finishing overhead catenary work and powering up the electric substations.

The Monon Corridor is expected to carry 12 trains per weekday, with rush-hour trains going through to Chicago and other trains ending at the Hammond Gateway, where riders can board trains on the Lakeshore Corridor — the existing South Shore Line — into the city, or eastward.

MC station nears completion

Noland told the board that the parking structure at the new Michigan City 11th Street Station is expected to be complete by the end of April. The last major work of the railroad's Double Track project, the garage will have 437 spots reserved for South Shore passengers out of 530 total spaces.

The parking structure's completion will allow the station building itself to be opened. The station and garage are part of a block-filling mixed-use development that's also proceeding toward completion.

"If you don't drive by every couple of weeks, you'll miss something over there, because it's all coming together nicely," Noland said.

The railroad's other capital projects include the potential move of the South Bend station at the South Bend International Airport and upgrades near its terminus in Chicago to accommodate the 26 extra trains.

Noland said engineering is nearly complete for South Bend. The goal for financing the project — with an estimated cost of $112 million — would be one-half local and state sources and one-half federal grants. While work continues locally and at the state level, there's "no crystal ball" regarding federal funding, he said.

In addition to Department of Governmental Efficiency activity, uncertainty over the next federal budget and the next five-year transportation plan — due to be completed next year — remain wild cards.

The $200 million Chicago project to add rail and platform capacity to Millennium Station remains on schedule and budget, Noland said.

New NICTD chair

By state statute the five-member NICTD Board of Trustees is chaired by the commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation. On Friday, Gov. Mike Braun's office announced that Kent Abernathy, who had served in the role the first two months of the governor's term, has been replaced by Lyndsay Quist, most recently the department's deputy commissioner of capital program management.

Quist was represented at Monday's meeting by Roland Fegan, an INDOT deputy commissioner. Other NICTD trustees remain Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, Valparaiso Mayor John Costas, LaPorte School Trustee Jim Arnold and St. Joseph County Commissioner Carl Baxmeyer.

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