(La Porte, IN) - A proposed highway around downtown La Porte will be the focus of an upcoming meeting.

 

The event is scheduled for September 2 at the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte facilities at East Shore Parkway and McClung Road. The doors open at 7:30 PM.

 

Mike Riehle, President at La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership, said several speakers like La Porte City Engineer Nick Minich would lay out the project and take questions from the audience. La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody said elected officials from both the city and county will also be in attendance since the proposed corridor would also run into the unincorporated areas of the county. 

 

A corridor around the downtown talked about for more than a half-century would remove some of the truck traffic from downtown and help make downtown a more walkable area.

 

Supporters believe a more walkable area would help downtown businesses by creating more of a gathering place for people to browse, shop, and take part in special events. Federal funding is being sought to pay 80-percent of the project, estimated at around $100 million.

 

The corridor, referred to by some as a bypass, would be about eight miles long and run from about U.S 35 at Boyd Boulevard to near the Indiana Toll Road.