Chesterton is applying for a federal grant that would pay for significant safety upgrades at two downtown railroad crossings.
Chesterton Town Council President Erin Collins, D-2nd, at Monday’s council meeting stated that U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, offered the town an opportunity to apply for a 2027 federal community project grant.
If the town is successful in obtaining the grant, it would fund the majority of $1.9 million in safety upgrades for the Norfolk Southern Railroad crossings at Calumet Road and 4th Street, said Assistant Town Engineer Matt Gavelek.
The improvements would include pedestrian gates, improved signage and state-of-the-art safety devices for the two crossings.
Collins said the town, with 85 trains passing through each day, encounters safety issues with its railroad crossings. That has become evident with three pedestrian fatalities at crossings since May 2023.
Meanwhile, Chesterton is still moving forward with its own plan to address the safety of the Calumet Road crossing.
The town has developed a parking lot at Grant Avenue by Calumet Road close to the tracks, which accommodates visitors to the European Market, held on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. from May through the end of October.
Gavelek said that he will likely submit to the town’s Redevelopment Commission a request for $24,139 to fund engineering and permits with Norfolk Southern Railroad, which would eventually allow for construction of Z-gates at the Calumet Road crossing.
The Z-gates funnel pedestrians into a walkway that forces them to look both ways, so they can see if trains are coming down the tracks. For now, the town has put up fencing and signs at the crossing.
The Town Council also awarded a $714,7492.50 contract to Rieth-Riley Construction Co. for street resurfacing this year.
Assistant Street Superintendent Dan Moy said that the first project will be repaving a section of the Duneland Prairie Trail, from Jackson Street to Pearson Road.
The town will also apply for a Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant that would help develop its fledgling Chesterton Trackside Arts and Cultural District.
The district was created last year to better market the town’s cultural assets. The district’s boundaries will be Grant Avenue and Indiana Avenue on the north and south sides and will stretch from Calumet Road west to South Fifth Street. There are 50 cultural assets identified within the district.
Councilman James Ton, R-1st, noted that Porter County residents could be hit with a 1% tax on food and beverages to help fund what he called a “stateline stadium” in Hammond to house the Chicago Bears. The team has not yet made a commitment.
Ton questioned why Porter County residents would have to pay a tax for a stadium in Lake County. He said if such a tax is collected, he would like to see it go toward helping fund the area’s many attractions around the Indiana Dunes National and State parks, which serve the population year-round.
“There’s a lot of money that you could be spending in Porter County, besides the stadium on the stateline,” Ton said.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
