On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced it would provide $27.5 million in Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan for the Double Track Project between Gary and Michigan City, Ind.
The funding from the Build America Bureau will pay for a portion of the $649 million project along a 26.6-mile segment of the South Shore Line. It will include nearly 18 miles of double tracking and overhead power system installation, upgrades to five stations, eliminating 13 at-grade roadway/track crossings, and adding 1,475 parking spaces. Other crossings will see upgrades like automatic warning devices.
“We are pleased to help finance the Double Track Project, which will increase safety, and reliability and cut travel time by one-third for commuters from Michigan City to Chicago,” Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Transportation Secretary, said. “This project will deliver improved trip options, taking vehicles off the road and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.”
The loan will add to a $203.3 million loan executed earlier this year for the West Lake Corridor Project on the South Shore Line, bringing to $354.6 million the amount of grant funding provided in the federal financing package with the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investments Program.
“The South Shore Line upgrades will not only benefit commuters, but the entire region as transit-oriented development is induced and new jobs are created,” said Bureau Executive Director Morteza Farajian. “Eliminating shared use of the single track and the road/train crossings greatly enhances safety for riders and drivers.”
The project is expected to be completed in 2024.