A plan to reroute part of the Calumet Trail, first built more than 50 years ago, has crossed its biggest bureaucratic hurdle.
The National Park Service this week issued a Finding of No Significant Impact on plans to build a 6.3-mile segment of the trail through the Indiana Dunes National Park, to make the trail safer and more scenic.
The approval is “a major, major step forward” on a process that began more than three years ago, said Rafi Wilkinson, the national park’s outdoor recreation coordinator. “There should be nothing to stop us from moving forward.”
He expects construction to rebuild the Calumet Trail to begin this year.
Porter County has funding to rebuild the entire 9-mile trail from Mineral Springs Road to the western edge of Michigan City, including the middle part through the national park.
The national park’s approval comes with two changes in the original plan.
Furnessville Road, which is owned by the national park, will be converted to a one-way eastbound road instead of being entirely closed to traffic. Part of the trail will run along the north half of the road, Wilkinson said.
Nearby residents had asked, at a public meeting in September, to keep the road open for safety and as a scenic drive.
And after consulting with representatives of Native American tribal groups, Wilkinson said, part of the trail was rerouted to avoid what was described as “sensitive cultural resources.”
The original Calumet Trail was built in the early 1970s along a NIPSCO right of way, but parts of it are subject to chronic flooding now. The national park’s description says the trail is “not suitable for road bikes” and warns, “You will get wet and your shoes and clothes will get soaked.”
The national park’s approval of the 6.3-mile trail segment came after “multiple, multiple rounds of internal review” in the local park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service’s regional office, Wilkinson said.
“It ensured that we looked at every aspect, and minimized impacts on the resources and residents,” he said.
Tim Zorn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
