A major construction project that will help clear the way for cargo carriers at Gary/Chicago International Airport is slated to begin this week.
ITR Concession Co., the Indiana Toll Road's private operator, will begin preparatory work this week to lower the roadway up to eight feet at the southeast end of the airport's main runway.
"The toll road is a real obstacle, as far as its height, for large planes trying to land," Gary airport Director Chris Curry said. "This will remove that obstacle."
Lowering the road will allow the airport to install an upgraded instrument landing system for landing planes in inclement weather, Curry said. Cargo planes for major carriers require such a system because planes must run on time.
The Gary airport currently handles a limited amount of cargo. Gary Mayor Rudy Clay has been pushing for the airport to take steps to attract major cargo carriers, a move many see as a potential engine for economic growth.
Under a $90 million expansion program, the northwest end of the airport's main runway will be lengthened to handle large cargo planes and large passenger airliners.
The airport recently completed a $15 million project to bury high-tension power lines and a utility electric substation that would have blocked the flight path to the longer runway.
Lowering the toll road is being done as part of a larger ITR Concession project, which also is widening the roadway to three lanes in each direction from milepost 10.6 to milepost 20.3, said Matt Pierce, an ITR Concession spokesman.
The overall project has a price tag of $250 million.
The project has been underway since 2007. Motorists on the toll road will see some lane shifting in the area of the airport as work to lower the roadway begins, Pierce said.
ITR Concession is required to do the work as part of its private lease agreement with the State of Indiana. ITR Concession's parent companies in 2006 paid the state $3.8 billion for the right to operate and collect tolls on the roadway for 99 years.
The City of Gary's Board of Public Works must vote on ITR Concession's plan at its meeting Wednesday. A meeting with residents who will be affected by the change was held Monday night.
There are about half-a-dozen residential streets sandwiched between the toll road to the south and the Grand Calumet river to the north.
"At the end of the day, they will get better access to Industrial Highway and Clark Street," Pierce said of residents of the tight-knit neighborhood.
If the board of works approves the measure, Clark Street and West 1st Avenue will be temporarily closed starting Thursday so work can begin on improving both streets in that area, Pierce said. A new, improved West 1st Avenue and Clark Street access would be set to open April 10.
Durbin Street access to West 1st Avenue is set to be permanently closed April 10. The Durbin Street underpass must be eliminated so the toll road can be lowered, Pierce said.
