Proposed rail line skirting Chicago draws opposition
LOWELL, Ind. (AP) - Hundreds of people voiced concern at public forums about the impact on local communities of a proposed $8 billion, 278-mile rail line from Indiana to Wisconsin aimed at relieving Chicago-area freight congestion.
"It would annihilate home values, and it would kill us," Lake County Commissioner Gerry Scheub said at a forum being held Tuesday by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in Lowell, 30 miles south of Gary, Indiana. He suggested a route farther south would be better.
Other Lake County officials and state Sen. Rick Niemeyer also spoke out against the proposal by Great Lakes Basin Transportation to build a rail line that could handle 110 trains a day through southern Lake and Porter counties. Niemeyer said the eminent domain laws need to be updated to prevent a railroad from using them for such a long corridor.
"Why use our area to solve a problem we didn't create?" he asked in reference to the rail congestion in the Chicago area.
Chris Tebbens of Hebron, about 11 miles east of Lowell, said the line would bring tracks within 400 feet of his rural home.
"I'm out in the country where it is quiet. I don't want up to 110 trains a day going past my house," he said.
A standing-room only crowd of more than 400 people attended the forum in Lowell. More than 300 people attended another forum held earlier Tuesday in Valparaiso, about 15 miles southeast of Gary.
Dayna Foster said she was concerned about how close the line would be to Boone Grove schools, saying there would be no way to avoid crossing railroad tracks going to school.
"It's a big-time safety concern," Foster said.
The forums were among several being held by the federal Transportation Board to hear public comments on possible problems with the proposed route, potential alternate routes and measures to limit problems cited by area residents. The board's Office of Environmental Analysis will weigh the impact of the rail line, while another office will consider the plan's transportation merits.