The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission approved a massive five-year transportation improvement program for the region on Thursday.
The plan calls for $134.8 in transit operating funds, $2.8 million in transit expansion, $158,000 million in transit asset management, $5.8 million in transit-oriented development, $14.3 million for trails, $63.3 million for roadway and bridge rehabilitation, $48.3 million for new roads and bridges, $16.5 million for complete streets (sidewalks, bike paths and other improvements along roadways), $10.5 million for air quality and environmental improvement and $1.7 million for planning. And that’s all federal funds.
These projects typically call for an 80/20 match, with 80% coming from the federal government and 20% coming from local or state funds.
The plan calls for 17 roundabouts scattered across the region.
Two major Marquette Greenway projects are programmed for fiscal year 2026, which begins in July. A 1.9-mile section between Kennedy and Cline avenues is projected to cost $4.6 million. Another section between Cline Avenue and the Roosevelt/2nd Avenue intersection in Gary is pegged at $10.6 million. A third section, across the Norfolk Southern and South Shore Line tracks at Hillcrest in Ogden Dunes, at $6.9 million, is scheduled for 2028.
A 1.25-mile stretch of the Veterans Memorial Trail, between the Crown Point Sportsplex and Delaware Parkway, is slated for construction in 2028.
Two phases of the Willowcreek Road extension are slated. Phase 2, between County Road 650 N and Ind. 130, including a bridge over the railroad tracks and Ind. 130, is set for 2028. That price tag is estimated at $13.6 million. The other, between Ind. 130 and 700 N, is set for 2027, with an $8.8 million cost.
The Cline Avenue extension in St. John, between 93rd and 101st avenues, is set for 2029, at $7.8 million.
Two phases of the Kennedy Avenue extension in Schererville are on the list. Phase 3, from Oak Street to Main Street, a 1.1-mile stretch, is pegged at $21.4 million, with costs running from 2026 through 2030.
Phase 4, from Junction Avenue to U.S. 30, at $28.7 million, also runs from 2026 to 2030.
The Indiana Department of Transportation has a long list of projects on the list, including $225.8 million in 2026 for projects on the Borman Expressway between the state line and Interstate 65. Those projects, aimed at making travel on the Borman more efficient, include allowing traffic to use the shoulders on occasion, ramp metering to improve the flow of traffic merging onto the expressway, variable speed limits depending on traffic conditions, lane controls and special purpose lanes.
To gain federal funding for the projects, NIRPC had to calculate that the projects wouldn’t cause the region’s air quality to exceed limits for ozone.
Lake County Councilman Randall Niemeyer noted there have been repeated discussions in the Indiana General Assembly about repealing emissions testing for vehicles. Niemeyer asked how NIRPC would be affected if that happens.
“We’ve talked about all these issues,” Executive Director Ty Warner said, and yes, the agency could adjust. “It’s a balancing game of emissions standards,” he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
