NW Indiana group seeks $24M grant for planned 3-state trail

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) - A northwestern Indiana group is hoping to close gaps in a long-planned regional trail if it lands a $24 million federal grant.

The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission is expected to apply this month for the U.S. Department of Transportation grant. If it lands the funding, it would pay for work along the planned Marquette Greenway.

That trail is expected to eventually run 58 miles from Chicago's South Side, through northern Indiana to New Buffalo, Michigan, but some stretches are already in use.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports the grant would cover a big part of the estimated $33 million cost of building segments of the trail in Indiana.

The longest gap is an 8-mile stretch that would link the west and east portions of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com