BY STAN MADDUX, Post-Tribune correspondent
Michigan City officials are still contemplating whether to relocate the South Shore tracks or update the existing route that runs down the middle of streets.
"We have not made a final determination on our preferred alignment," Mayor Chuck Oberlie said.
The moving of tracks is one idea tied to the extension of the South Shore to Valparaiso and Lowell.
Oberlie along with local business leaders and South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke are the latest to announce support for a funding mechanism bill that's now in the Indiana Senate after winning House approval.
Currently, South Shore commuter trains move slowly through Michigan City with tracks literally down the middle of 10th and 11th streets, cutting across numerous unguarded intersections on the way to the Carroll Avenue station.
One idea being explored is reconfiguring streets rather than the tracks, moving the train closer to the curb.
Oberlie said that might allow for more speed and less risk to vehicles and pedestrians.
Relocating that stretch of track about a mile to the south by Ames Field along an abandoned right of way is another possibility to improve travel times and safety.
But Oberlie said the existing route is probably best for tourism because it's within a relatively short walk to the lakefront, Blue Chip Casino, Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets and other attractions.
If the bill is approved, Oberlie said either option is now possible because funding will no longer be an issue.
"It is important that as our city continues to rebuild itself that we make the best use of this asset and continue to invest in it," Oberlie said.
The bill allows a percentage of sales taxes in Lake, Porter, LaPorte and St. Joseph counties to be applied toward the project, expected to cost $1 billion, half of which will come from federal funds.