The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District announced that the South Shore Line's Double Track Northwest Indiana project is 97% complete.
The almost $650 million project that includes 16.9 miles of a second track is estimated to be complete in May. The new track will go from Gary to Michigan City.
NICTD President Michael Noland says the double-track project will add 14 trains to its current 39-trains-a-day weekday schedule.
Construction of the Miller Station building is underway and should be finished later this month, according to the Double-Track NWI website.
Train service between the Dune Park and Carroll Avenue stations resumed in October. Last fall, developer Flaherty & Collins began work on the 11th Street Station and garage. The project is scheduled for completion in January 2025.
Construction of the new Portage/Ogden Dunes high-level platform is almost done. The project includes eight new platforms, according to a project overview.
NICTD earned a New Starts federal grant, which was administered by the Federal Transit Administration.
“We’re helping with that second track on the South Shore that will make such a difference for so many commuters and open up so much value in the land around those places that people are going to count on to get to work,” said Pete Buttigieg, former South Bend mayor and current U.S. Secretary of Transportation, during a visit to Gary in late August.
Caption: Overhead contact system crews install jumpers in December as part of the South Shore Line's double-track project. (Photo by Kevin Shick)
