Secretary Pete Buttigieg touts federally funded rail project to make Elkhart safer, less congested

WVPE 88.1 Elkhart/South Bend | By Jeff Parrott

At a stop in Elkhart Wednesday, Pete Buttigieg, the former South Bend mayor and current U.S. transportation secretary, touted a $2.6 million federal grant awarded last year to Patriot Railways, formerly known as Elkhart Western Railroad, a regional short-line track.

The company is using the money to move its rail yard from the downtown to the city’s western edge, eliminating freight car backups that disrupt students walking and being driven to the Elkhart Freshman Academy at the former Central High School campus.

At a press conference outside the rail depot, Buttigieg, accompanied by Mayor Rod Roberson, said the project will help the city’s downtown redevelopment efforts.

“The design of a key section of the Elkhart Western Railroad no longer works for the community that is here now and it no longer works for the way the economy has grown, or for the vision that the mayor and the community have for the future of this city,” Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg also talked about the city’s planned Hively Avenue railroad overpass project on the south side. The estimated $34 million project has won some state funding but is not yet receiving federal money.