In 2009, the City of Portage completed work on the Lakefront Park and Riverwalk, a $16 million project fueled by $10 million in grants from the RDA. Once the site of acid baths for a nearby steel plant, the park and riverwalk is now one of the most-visited attractions at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, offering both outdoor recreational opportunities and indoor event space in a LEED Gold-certified pavilion.
Today, Portage is expanding access to the park by connecting it to the South Shore train station in Ogden Dunes. Scheduled to be finished by October, the new connection will allow people to safely walk or bike from the station to the lakefront. Trolley service between the station and the park is also under consideration.
The new connection underlines how the Lake Michigan shoreline and South Shore rail service work together to benefit multiple communities in northern Lake and Porter counties. The RDA and local communities have invested more than $200 million in shoreline improvements in Hammond, Gary, East Chicago, Whiting and Portage over the past nine years, an investment projected to create more than 1,000 jobs in the next decade. Meanwhile, South Shore operator NICTD has drawn up plans for about $1 billion in upgrades and improvements over the next 20 years to the existing South Shore line running through these communities. These upgrades, which will improve service and stimulate transit-oriented development, will grow property values, incomes and jobs locally, and provide better access to high-paying job opportunities in Chicago.
