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Chicago Tribune
10-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana Department of Transportation nixes idea of arboretum for road interchange in Porter
The idea of developing an arboretum in the green space around the Indiana 49 and U.S. 20 interchange was rejected by the Indiana Department of Transportation. Architecture students from Ball State University recently presented a study of the interchange during a Porter Plan Commission meeting. Jeremy Merrill, an assistant professor of landscape architecture, relayed by video feed the observations of his students. The town of Porter was looking for ideas to enhance the appearance of the intersection as an entrance into the community. Porter Town Councilman James Burge, I-2nd, arranged for the Ball State University College of Architecture and Planning to do the study, free of charge. The plan included an arboretum with winding trails, a mound, a playground and an amphitheater on the southeast side of the intersection, which would link up with the nearby Indiana Dunes Visitor Center off Indiana 49. Merrill even proposed having a pedestrian bridge over the entrance ramp. 'That plan was much more complex than what we might be able to have there,' said Cassy Bajek, an INDOT spokeswoman. The reason why INDOT had to say no was the safety concern for people in the area of the interchange. 'We don't want people to come in and out of the roadway,' Bajek said. Bajek said there are clear parameters of what the town can do with the intersection. The town would be permitted to do landscaping projects and welcome signs. Michael Barry, Porter's building commissioner and development director, said the town will look at landscaping options and artwork to spruce up the area. He said it was clear, though, that INDOT doesn't want people congregating within the intersection's green space. Barry said the town will talk with the Indiana Dunes National Park to coordinate with plans for the Visitor Center. The Ball State students did pitch other intriguing ideas outside of the Indiana 49 and U.S. 20 interchange that the town would consider, Barry said Barry said one proposal addressed the greater connectivity of trails within the Porter community. In recent weeks, Barry said he has been working with Parks Director Brian Bugajski and Rob Albrecht-Mallinger, a plan commission and Board of Zoning Appeals board member, on the trails issue. An obstacle is the recent Indiana state budget cut out money for the Next Level Trails program, which helps to fund the construction of trails, Barry said. The town wants to see its current trail that goes north on Waverly Road extended to Porter Beach. Barry said what the town can do downtown is widen the sidewalk on Lincoln Street to 8 feet so it can accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists. That could help to connect the trail from Waverly Road and Lincoln Street to the Porter Brickyard Trail, which runs down Beam Street. The Porter Brickyard Trail has a bridge over U.S. 20 and runs through the Indiana Dunes National Park, linking with the Calumet Trail/Marquette Greenway at North Mineral Springs Road. Barry said the one thing he plans to do this year is install wayfinding signs for the Porter Brickyard Trail and other trails within the town to better inform bicyclists and pedestrians. There are practically no signs for the trails now.
Chicago Tribune
07-03-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
‘You have a problem there': Duneland stretch of US 20 has history of wrecks
US 20 has been tagged with the nickname 'Bloody 20' because of its history of wrecks in Northwest Indiana. There is even a Facebook page devoted to tracking crashes on 'The Bloody 20' in LaPorte County. Chesterton Town Councilman James Ton, R-1st, said that U.S. 20 was originally built to relieve traffic on US 12. Before Interstate 94 was constructed in sections across Northwest Indiana during the 1950s and 60s, US 20 was a major east-west highway. The Indiana State Police at one time had its Post #1 near the US 20-Indiana 49 interchange. Traffic can still be a challenge on US 20 these days and Ton believes that a two-mile Duneland corridor from Tremont Road to Brummitt Road in Westchester Township fits the 'Bloody 20' moniker. Ton said he tracked down an official from the Indiana Department of Transportation about the safety issue on US 20 after the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission meeting on Feb. 20. 'They need to understand that there is a problem. It is a situation that needs a remedy,' Ton said. It so happened that when Ton spoke to the Town Council on Feb. 24 about his talk with an INDOT official, there was a fatal crash on US 20 at Brummitt Road earlier that day. Chesterton Police provided backup for the Porter County Sheriff's Office. Eric Buzalski, 43, of LaPorte was driving his pickup truck west on US 20 when he went left-of-center while passing a vehicle and struck an eastbound semi head-on. Another eastbound semi-trailer also became involved in the ensuing crash that took hours to untangle. Buzalski was pronounced dead at the scene. What happened with the crash illustrated one of the main issues for that stretch of US 20There are four lanes with no median. Ton said that the section of US 20 is also susceptible to lane violations because it's not a divided highway. Another problem is the lack of turning lanes, which results in rear-end collisions because motorists don't stop in time, Ton said. There are also a number of businesses near Tremont Road, along with side streets that empty onto US 20 which pose additional safety challenges. INDOT acknowledges that many of the observations made by Ton are true. Cassy Bajek, a spokeswoman for INDOT's office in LaPorte, said she doesn't have accurate crash data available for that portion of US. 20. But in speaking with the traffic team, Bajek said the type of highway like US 20 — four lanes undivided without turn lanes — is prone to more operational issues. 'There are more challenges with side-street traffic crossing, four lanes without having a refuge in the middle, people stopped on the highway waiting to turn left, no median barrier wall,' Bajek said in an email. However, Bajek said that there are limited options for that section of US 20 because of space constraints: Indiana Dunes National Park is on the north and there are railroad tracks alongside the highway on the south side. Bajek said that INDOT might explore some options but there are no timelines and no official study is planned. It might not have been the answer that Ton was looking for, but he believes it's still important to raise the issue. 'The main thing I wanted to get across is, you have a problem there,' Ton said.
