Investing in transportation infrastructure vital to attracting new jobs, people to Northwest Indiana

For the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, 2024 was an important year in two respects.

First, it marked the completion of the South Shore Line double-track project, something for which the RDA spent years assembling the financing and years after that overseeing construction to ensure it was delivered on time and on budget.

Last year also saw the clock wind down to less than a year to completion of the second phase of commuter rail expansion in the Region, the West Lake Corridor, and economic development gear up in places like Hammond to take advantage of the new rail service.

Make no mistake, this represents an extraordinary feat. In the span of roughly a dozen years, the Double Track Northwest Indiana and West Lake projects will have gone from an idea to a plan to fully funded projects — with federal, state, local and RDA support — to operating rail systems delivering thousands of Hoosiers to and from jobs every day.

At $1.5 billion combined, they are the largest investment in commuter rail in the history of Indiana and the first expansion of the South Shore Line in more than 100 years.

And those projects represent just some of the transportation stories being told around Northwest Indiana.

The rail relocation and runway extension project at the Gary/Chicago International Airport is another one — for which the RDA provided $50 million — that continues to pay off for the airport. Since then, they have added a new fixed-base operator, multiple new hangars and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, among other amenities. A new control tower is in the works.

Investment also continues at the Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor. The state of Indiana recently launched an effort to bring global container shipping to our shoreline. That project faces challenges, not the least of which are the size limitations of the St. Lawrence Seaway. But the effort only emphasizes once again that, when it comes to transportation, Northwest Indiana has been blessed with an overflowing cup.

Goods and people can move in, out and through the Region by every means possible: roads, rail, air and water. This is the fundamental reason Northwest Indiana can punch so far above its weight and compete on an international level. Geography isn’t something that can be bought or built. You either have it or you don’t. And since we have it, the RDA in early 2024 decided to look again at how best to take advantage of it.

Over the past year, the RDA has engaged civic and business leaders across the Region as part of the first update of our strategic plan since 2016. This update, scheduled to be completed in early 2025, is designed to guide our investments over the next 20 years, in accordance with our statutory requirements.

For this update, the RDA brought in fresh eyes by consulting with WSP, a multidisciplinary engineering firm; Brian H. Hurd, a strategic engagement and development consultant; Avenew, a transportation policy consultant; and JQOL, a utility engineering firm. What is emerging is a multi-step plan to embrace and build on the RDA’s past successes, elevating Northwest Indiana’s transportation potential through strategic infrastructure and capacity-building investments.

Some of these efforts will focus on continued upgrades and expansion of assets I have already mentioned, such as the Gary/Chicago International Airport and the South Shore Line.

For example, the state of Indiana has made available up to $75 million in matching funds for a new Metro Center station in downtown Gary. The RDA and the city of Gary are pursuing funds to access that match, as we both believe that a revitalized station will help drive development in the Metro Center Transit Development District. To set the stage for that development, RDA and the city will also begin the first half of a $12 billion blight elimination program around the downtown station this year.

There are also new initiatives in the works that I look forward to discussing as our strategic plan update is finalized in the coming weeks. These will make Northwest Indiana the destination for new residents, jobs and businesses in Indiana, the Midwest and beyond. •

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