On a summer Friday this year, families headed to Whihala Beach sat in their cars for three hours waiting for a stopped train to move. The Times of Northwest Indiana reported that some drivers gave up and turned around. Others eventually got out and walked toward the beach. The paper ran that story alongside some news Whiting had been waiting years for. The city had won federal money for an overpass at the Front Street entrance to the park.
Three months later, the crossing works the same way it did that Friday. That's expected. The July grant pays for a set of engineering plans. It doesn't pay for a bridge, and the bridge is the only fix within the city's reach, because Indiana's rule limiting how long a train can block a crossing can't be enforced.
What $5,163,200 Actually Pays For
The exact award is $5,163,200 from the U.S. Department of Transportation's BUILD program. Rep. Frank Mrvan's office announced it on July 9, 2026. Mayor Steve Spebar described what it covers in the same release: "The awarding to the City of Whiting of DOT's Build Grant will allow us to complete engineering work on our overpass project. The completion time for engineering work is projected at approximately the end of next year."
He said that in July 2026, so "next year" means roughly the end of 2027. And the milestone due then is finished drawings, with the bridge still to be built.
Now put the grant next to the full cost. At a public meeting on January 8, 2026, the city's project team estimated the total cost at about $45 million, spread over three stages: predesign, final design and construction. That makes the grant about one-ninth of the estimate. Spebar told The Times, "I understand why people might think that's a lot of money, but it's a small fraction of what the construction cost will be. When the engineering's completed, that makes the project shovel-ready."
"Shovel-ready" means the plans are finished and the project can start once someone funds construction. According to the same Times report, Mrvan said the project will be split 80/20 between federal and local money, and he called this grant "the first step of five" in federal funding through construction.
How Long It Took to Get This Far
Funding just the design took several attempts. The city's January presentation laid out the timeline.
| Year | Step |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Feasibility study compares design alternatives |
| 2024 | Initial corridor study and first USDOT RAISE grant application |
| 2025 | Second RAISE application |
| 2026 | BUILD grant application, awarded in July |
| About end of 2027 | Engineering projected to be complete |
The Times reported that the BUILD award came on the city's third application. Getting the design money took three tries over roughly three years. Construction money is the much larger request, and it's still ahead.
BP's Whiting refinery sits down the street from Lakefront Park, and the company is a partner on the project. The Times reported that BP has helped pay for the current stage of preliminary engineering. Spebar said the city expects "future conversations" with the company, and BP told the paper it supports the project.
Why the City Can't Just Ticket the Train
On paper, Indiana law limits how long a train can block a crossing. The Indiana Code still says a railroad may not block a public crossing for more than 10 minutes, with one listed exception.
That rule has been unenforceable since September 24, 2018. That day, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in State v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. that federal railroad law preempts the state's blocked-crossing statute. There's no federal rule to fall back on either. The Federal Railroad Administration says plainly that no federal laws or regulations cover blocked crossings.
So the 10-minute rule is still on the books, but no one can enforce it, and no federal limit replaces it. Whiting can't hand out tickets or impose a time limit. That's why the city has put its effort into an overpass. Lifting traffic above the tracks is the one solution that doesn't depend on any railroad's schedule.
The city frames the stakes as more than lost beach days. In the Times report, Spebar said the fire department made two water rescues in Lake Michigan the previous year, and that crews wouldn't have reached them in time if the tracks had been blocked. The Mrvan announcement also cites emergency response times as one of the project's main reasons.
What the Bridge Would Look Like
The design is further along than many people realize. According to the City of Whiting's public meeting notice, the plan is a new bridge over the entire rail corridor, just east of Front Street. It would carry traffic from 121st Street to Park Road and the lakefront park. The same design gives BP its own separate private access to the refinery.
The January presentation slides show how the team reached that design. Several early options were dropped in the 2023 feasibility study because they would have affected critical infrastructure. The remaining three were tested against the tight site:
- Alternative 1 failed because the road from the bridge to BP's property was too steep, and the turn onto Park Road was too tight.
- Alternative 3 fixed the grade by changing the bridge's alignment, but the turn onto Park Road was still too tight.
- Alternative 2, the preferred design, solves the grade into BP's property and has the widest turning radius the project area allows.
As of January, the team had finished the topographic and utility surveys. Geotechnical and hazardous-materials investigations were still underway. Environmental documentation, construction limits and coordination with affected property owners were scheduled for the 2026 preliminary design phase, following INDOT's process. The engineering firm is Short Elliott Hendrickson, known as SEH. The city's engineering page hosts the project materials, though its grant language still says the city has "just applied."
One clarification for anyone tracking train activity around town. The city says BP-operated train movements at Indianapolis Boulevard south of Schrage Avenue and at 129th Street east of Schrage Avenue are on "not the tracks near Whiting Park." BP has been working with CSX on gates at 129th Street. That's a separate issue from the lakefront crossing.
What You Can Do Before the Bridge
Until construction is funded, the crossing will keep stopping traffic the way it did that Friday. You do have one formal way to record it. The FRA runs a Blocked Crossing Incident Reporter that collects reports to track where crossings are blocked and how that affects people. It asks for one report per blocked crossing and isn't meant for emergencies. The FRA also notes that the reports aren't verified and aren't a representative sample.
If someone needs help while a train is blocking the way, call 911. The federal portal is only for building a record. And since the court ruling and statute above are general information rather than legal advice, anyone with a specific question about railroad liability or enforcement should ask an attorney.
The milestone to watch is the end of 2027, when engineering is projected to finish. After that, the city will need construction funding for the rest of a project estimated at about $45 million, and Mrvan has described that federal funding as coming in several more steps.
At Homes On Demand Realty, we follow projects like the Front Street overpass because they shape how Whiting works day to day, from beach trips to emergency access. If you have questions about how the 121st Street to Park Road plan touches your block, or you'd like an updated valuation for your Whiting home, let's connect. We're glad to talk in English or Spanish.
