By Keith Benman, Times of Northwest Indiana
keith.benman@nwi.com
EAST CHICAGO | Speaker after speaker Saturday told 14 state legislators that a new bridge must be built to replace the condemned Cline Avenue span over the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal.
"All of our economic development plans in the city of Hammond require that bridge," Hammond City Engineer Stan Dostatni told the lawmakers seated on stage at East Chicago Central High School. "We want that bridge replaced."
But it will be some time until it is determined if the bridge will be replaced, and even "short-term" projects on roads around Cline Avenue may not take place until 2011 or 2012, according to a timeline sent Friday to state Rep. Chet Dobis by Bob Zier, chief of staff to state Transportation Commissioner Michael Reed.
Demolition of the current bridge will be part of a "prioritized" list of short-term projects to be finalized in July, according to the timeline. But no actual date is given for the demolition of the bridge or the building of another.
That is in line with previous statements by the Indiana Department of Transportation and Gov. Mitch Daniels. They say more study and input is needed to decide if another bridge will be built. But they have committed to coming up with road-building projects capable of handling the 30,000 vehicles per day that used the bridge prior to its November closure.
The timeline states traffic lights at seven traffic congestion "hot spots" in East Chicago will be changed as early as this month to improve traffic flow. Dostatni said INDOT also has committed to adding double turn lanes at the intersection of Calumet Avenue and 129th Street, which has seen a big increase in both cars and heavy trucks since the bridge closure.
INDOT will hold its own public hearing Feb. 9 at a time and location yet to be determined, according to Zier's letter.
Saturday's hearing conducted by region legislators was led by Dobis, a Merrillville Democrat.
"There's no politics here," Dobis said. "The governor is a Republican and I'm a Democrat, and we both want to get this done."
Saturday's hearing came less than two weeks after INDOT shocked local officials by saying the bridge would be demolished and might not be replaced.
On Nov. 13, INDOT temporarily closed the bridge after it received an engineering report outlining the worsening condition of the structure.
On Saturday, speakers, including some of the region's most prominent business and labor leaders, praised INDOT's efforts so far. But they said immediate action now is needed on a solution.
Majestic Star Casino Vice President Jason Gregorec told legislators the company's two Gary gaming boats were forced to lay off 40 employees last week. He said those job cuts were a direct result of reduced business because of the Cline Avenue closure and not because the company is operating under bankruptcy protection.
The state of Indiana already has lost $10 million in tax revenue from the two gaming boats because of reduced revenues due to the Cline Avenue bridge closure, Gregorec said, and the overall value of the two boats has dropped by $90 million because of revenue losses.
"Most people, they look for convenience when they go gaming," Gregorec said. "So if it's more convenient to go to Illinois casinos, they will do that."
Tom Hargrove, president of United Steelworkers Local 1010, said ArcelorMittal is getting ready to restart operations at its Indiana Harbor long carbon mill. He said the good news is 200 laid off steelworkers will be coming back to work. The bad news is hundreds more heavy trucks will detour onto local roads because of the Cline Avenue bridge closure.
Legislators also heard from commuters and truckers from across the region, who now take long and costly detours every day.
Alice Stewart, of Hobart, said the bridge closure has lengthened her commute back and forth to her job at the University of Chicago from about 90 minutes per day to about three hours. That cuts down on time she spends with her baby daughter and husband.
"I understand it's for safety reasons," she said. "But things need to be done sooner rather than later."
Some speakers, including U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., said rebuilding Cline Avenue may be an opportunity to speed up development in line with the Marquette Greenway Plan for lakeshore development.
"I would ask all of you to take a long view and see this as an opportunity," said Visclosky, a Merrillville Democrat. "An opportunity to prepare for new types of economic development in this area. To keep what we have, but also to recognize the resource that we have in Lake Michigan."