Burns Harbor will soon start on what might be at $8 million plus the most expensive and challenging one-mile section of the Marquette Greenway Trail to build.
Communities between Calumet Park in Chicago and New Buffalo, Michigan, have been gradually building parts of the Marquette Greenway that will eventually cover 60 miles. The path will run mostly across Northwest Indiana, offering connections to attractions such as the Indiana Dunes National and State parks.
The Redevelopment Commission of Burns Harbor on Wednesday took the important step of awarding an $8,000,100 contract to F.H. Paschen Construction Co. of Merrillville. The town will spend an additional $385,866 for engineering services and on saplings to replace trees cleared for the trail.
The one-mile section would stretch from where the path ends now — at an overlook for the Little Calumet River — east to the Porter town limit at Beam Street. Porter this year is planning to build its last .8 mile part of the Marquette Greenway Trail across the Mnoke Prairie to connect with the path at the Burns Harbor town limit.
A reason why the last mile section costs so much is that a structure has to be built in the right-of-way underneath an existing Norfolk Southern Railroad bridge over the Little Calumet River, said Matt Keiser of Abonmarche Consultants, Inc.
The trail will go underneath one side of the bridge with a canopy to protect pedestrians and bicyclists, Keiser said.
Boardwalk has to be built for much of the one-mile trail’s length because it is on wetlands, Keiser said.
The town negotiated contracts with Norfolk Southern and the National Park Service — since much of the project is on their land — which has also added to the cost, said Tina Rongers, the economic consultant for the town.
Construction is expected to start soon with the goal of completing the project by the year’s end.
The state of Indiana, recognizing the project’s complexity and potential expense, awarded the town $5 million from its Next Trails program in December 2023.
The grant expires at the year’s end. Rongers said there have been discussions with state officials about an extension, if delays occur because of construction issues encountered.
Keiser said that F.E. Paschen Construction has prior experience working with railroads, as it had participated in the recent South Shore Double Track project.
Burns Harbor will be paying its $3,385,866 share of the project with funds collected from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds. TIF funds are property taxes collected from a designated area that can be used to finance capital improvement projects.
Councilwoman Roseann Bozak, a redevelopment commission member, said that the town has been engaged in planning for the Marquette Greenway Trail for 10 years.
Burns Harbor has already built 2.6 miles of the Marquette Greenway Trail from its boundary with Portage at the west end and across Ind. 149 to the Little Calumet River overlook.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
