Jason Miller, The News-Dispatch
jmiller@thenewsdispatch.com
UNION MILLS - A task force formed to weigh the pros and cons of a proposed intermodal in La Porte County received a look at where developers apparently would like to place it.
While ardent opponents of the proposal agreed the area they saw Wednesday is not fit for a sprawling transit hub, others said the tour was informative.
"I didn't know what to expect, but I got a different perspective on how restricted Kingsbury Industrial Park is compared to the other areas," La Porte Economic Development Director Tim Gropp said. "I thought the tour made a good case for why developers would be looking at those areas."
Nearly 50 people - most members of the La Porte Logistics Task Force - boarded a charter bus in La Porte on Wednesday. They rode around southern La Porte County for nearly three hours looking at plots of land near which an intermodal could be built.
They were shown a proliferation of existing railroad tracks and the nexus of three of those tracks near Union Mills at a massive junction called the "diamond." Wanatah farmer and intermodal opponent Hugh Glasgow narrated the trip, which also took riders through the Kingsbury Industrial Plant and the town of Kingsford Heights.
Since rumors of an intermodal began flying more than a year ago, area residents have claimed developers were looking to place it either near the Union Mills "diamond" or in KIP.
Glasgow pointed out hundreds of acres of farmland currently zoned for some type of industry and explained how trains and trucks are important to the area.
He also, however, pointed out an increase in train and truck traffic - inevitable if an Intermodal is built - could be a danger to the community.
"There are a lot of chlorine tanks that go through here," he said. "In the right conditions, with a 5 miles per hour wind, if there was a derailment someone could die very easily."
Glasgow said the grain elevator in Union Mills, through which trains roll to pick up cargo, deals with five million bushels of grain a year and serves 85 percent of La Porte County farmers.
He also pointed out areas near Union Mills where trains often stop, backing up vehicular traffic for nearly an hour.
"Trains usually stop east of Union Mills, but on occasion they stop to the west, which causes a big backup," he said.
The logistics task force includes members from throughout La Porte County and from all different socioeconomic and professional backgrounds. Police officers, city officials, corporate managers and housewives were brought together with others to study the proposal.
Michigan City Economic Development Director John Regetz, who helped set up the tour with Gropp, said he's studied the area already, but was curious to see what others thought.
"I don't think I expected, on this trip, that we'd know everything there is to know, but it's a good starting point," he said. "But it's good beginning information for future discussions. We've got to do our homework."