Work set to begin on Indiana Gateway Project, aims to ease railway congestion

HAMMOND, Ind. -- Work is scheduled to begin on a $71.4 million project aimed at speeding up traffic through northwestern Indiana's congested railroad corridors.

Gov. Mike Pence and representatives from Amtrak, the Federal Rail Administration and Norfolk Southern are scheduled to appear in Hammond on Thursday to mark the beginning of the Indiana Gateway project. The project is expected to include track relocations, high-speed crossovers and upgraded signal systems.

Officials have estimated the Indiana Gateway project, along with other improvements in Illinois and Michigan, will shave 30 minutes off a Chicago-to-Detroit Amtrak ride.

The project will include the construction of a siding at the town of Porter, identified by the state transportation department as one of the most congestion-prone rail junctions in the county.