Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch
LA PORTE -As discussion on an intermodal transportation facility in La Porte County continues, it has reheated the debate for and against construction of the Illiana Expressway.
The anti-Illiana and intermodal yard signs dotting the countryside clearly signal the position of some residents.
County development and government officials are taking more of a wait-and-see stance, but publicly favor the possibilities for new jobs, lower taxes and other potential benefits that could give La Porte County an economic boost.
Purdue University-North Central Chancellor James Dworkin said development of an intermodal facility would definitely impact the Westville campus if U.S. 421 is expanded into a four-lane highway. Dworkin said there now is a land buffer between campus buildings and the highway.
"We have a master facilities plan and have to make sure proposed new buildings and parking garages are far from the highway," Dworkin said.
He believes in keeping an open mind while the county Intermodal Task Force does its work. Ultimately, he said, the decision is up to the railroads, local legislators and the La Porte County Intermodal Task Force.
Dworkin said La Porte County has one of the highest unemployment rates in Indiana, and the potential for new jobs could create demand for PNC's programs in construction management, business and engineering.
The PNC campus is located at the edge of rolling, curvy country roads that run through a mixture of farmland and fairly new homes, with more being constructed.
People like Barb Dahlberg, 9911 W. County Road 100 North, like the area just the way it is.
Anti-Illiana and anti-intermodal signs are prominently displayed in the Dahlbergs' front yard. She grew up on a farm just down the road her brother has taken over from her father. She wants her two teenagers to experience the same fresh country air and uncrowded residential areas that she grew up with.
"Land is something we cannot get back," Dahlberg said. "They don't make any more land."
She worries if farmland is taken out of production, America won't be able to feed itself. And she is concerned that, some 25 years in the future, the number of buildings being abandoned for new sites will increase.
Even if the Illiana Expressway runs through the Pinola area, she thinks air pollution from increased truck traffic will float her way.
William Dombrowsky, 9455 W. County Road 100 North, said his anti-Illiana sign was posted on behalf of his son, who lives on Wozniak Road. He recalls when a sand-mining operation brought 30 to 40 trucks a day into his neighborhood.
"Things got close and hectic," he said.
At 79, he says he's too old to have an opinion on possible developments, but he does believe it will be tough on future generations as land is taken by eminent domain. He is concerned about the future of his son and family, who live nearby.
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