South Shore expansion plan delayed for additional freight

BY PATRICK GUINANE, Times of Northwest Indiana
pguinane@nwitimes.com

INDIANAPOLIS | A plan to divert state dollars toward South Shore commuter rail expansion will soon pick up some more freight.

U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., came to the Statehouse on Thursday to support state Rep. Chet Dobis' effort to steer $350 million in state sales tax money toward a $1 billion plan to extend South Shore lines to Lowell and Valparaiso. The House Ways and Means Committee took more than an hour of testimony but didn't vote on the funding bill.

That's because House Speaker Pat Bauer, a South Bend Democrat, wants to tack on an amendment next week that would steer more state money toward South Shore rail improvements in LaPorte and St. Joseph counties.

"It's the same South Shore region," Bauer said. "The region includes two more counties, so I believe in (being) fair and balanced."

The amendment would provide funding to relocate tracks that now run through downtown Michigan City and remove a rail snarl that slows trains into South Bend Regional Airport. Bauer said the improvements would make the 90-minute trip from South Bend to Chicago about 30 minutes quicker.

Dobis, D-Merrillville, wants to divert 12.5 percent of the sales tax money Lake and Porter counties send the state toward the Lowell and Valparaiso lines, a move that would generate $30 million annually without raising local taxes. It was not immediately clear Thursday how much state money the Michigan City and South Bend projects would require, but the total figure is expected to measure a fraction of the Northwest Indiana expansion.

Even so, the proposed additions would grow by tens of millions the state tab for a project some lawmakers already consider too expensive.

"The questions I get (from constituents) is why are we always sending our money to Indianapolis or Gary," state Rep. Bill Davis, R-Portland, said during Thursday's committee hearing. "The question I have is: How do we justify those kind of revenues to one section of the state?"

Visclosky stressed the economic gains associated with the expansion, which is expected to create an estimated 26,000 new jobs over three decades.

"Why are we undertaking this program? For job creation in Indiana," Visclosky said. "This corner of the state will be your next great economic engine."