Driving as we know
it in Downtown Chesterton will change utterly on Wednesday, with the total
closure--until probably sometime in October--of East Porter Ave. between
South Calumet Road and Wilson Street.
That closure is
necessitated by the scheduled replacement of the bridge over Coffee Creek,
just west of Chesterton Cemetery.
Most folks,
apparently, have gotten the message that East Porter Ave. will no longer
serve as a straight-shot entry into or exit out of town. And most of those
folks, apparently, understand that it’s the bridge project which is causing
the inconvenience.
What few people
seem to realize, however, is that it’s not the Town of Chesterton replacing
the bridge.
It’s the Porter
County Highway Department.
At the Town
Council’s meeting Monday night, Member Emerson DeLaney, R-5th, tried once
again to set the record straight. “This is a county project,” he said. “I’m
still getting a lot of questions. ‘Why are you allowing this to be done?’
We’re not allowing it. We don’t have a choice. Our hands are tied.”
Member Jim Ton,
R-1st, concurred with DeLaney, although he added that the Porter County
Highway Department is simply doing what must be done. “We do need a new
bridge,” Ton said. “It’s in need of replacement. We have to bite the bullet.
But the medicine is pretty strong.”
Motorists and
residents of Morgan Park should know these things:
* The posted detour
for traffic westbound on East Porter Ave. is right (north) on Wilson Street,
then left (west) on East Morgan Ave. to South Calumet Road.
* The posted detour
for traffic eastbound on West Porter Ave. is left (north) on South Calumet
Road, right (east) on East Morgan Ave., then right (south) on Wilson Street
to East Porter Ave.
* Also beginning on
Wednesday, per the Police Commission, all parking on Wilson Street between
East Porter Ave. and East Morgan Ave. will be prohibited, on both sides of
the street, for the duration of the project.
* The intersection
of Wilson Street and East Morgan Ave. is currently a two-way stop. Motorists
north- and southbound on Wilson Street have a stop sign at the intersection
of East Morgan Ave. Motorists east- and westbound on East Morgan Ave. do
not have a stop sign at the intersection of Wilson Street.
* Although heavy
truck traffic is banned by Town Code in Morgan Park, residents should expect
to see the occasional semi along the Wilson Street/East Morgan Ave. detour
route. As long as that route is the officially posted detour, truckers may
use it.