We are the Hessville Dune Dusters, a dedicated group of citizens working to preserve and maintain the historic Briar East Woods in the Hessville community of Hammond, Indiana. The Briar East Woods is a 4,700-year-old sand dune-woodland and ancient shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is the last unprotected remnant of the High Tolleston Dunes.

ABOUT GOVERNOR’S PARKWAY:

Mayor Tom Mcdermott’s Governor’s Parkway Overpass project fails to serve its intended purpose of providing safe passage over the railroad tracks on Grand Avenue, and simultaneously destroys the 32-acre ancient dune woodland known as the Briar East Woods.

The Governor's Parkway Overpass project is a one-mile walk away from the crossing on Grand Avenue where children have been recorded climbing under stalled trains as they walk to school. The design of the Governor's Parkway overpass does nothing for this urgent public safety crisis. The overpass does not provide safe passage for children over the tracks, as they will have to walk up to two miles out of their way from schools on Grand Avenue to utilize it every day.

While failing to serve its intended purpose, the Governor's Parkway overpass will also destroy the 4,700-year-old Briar East Woods, an established sand dune ecosystem located at 169th Street and Parrish Avenue. It is home to a plethora of wildlife including barred owls, red-tailed hawks, red tailed foxes, deer, bald eagles, a variety of amphibians, valuable insects/pollinators, and native sand dune flora. Each year, it provides billions of gallons in flooding protection to the Hessville neighborhood and city of Hammond at large. It also mitigates noise and air pollution, and provides residents a natural place of respite and leisure -- rare in our heavily developed city.

Among those studied by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), the Governor's Parkway overpass is the most expensive alternative to addressing the train problem in Hessville, estimated at $11,670,000 (2019) plus a $7.7 million supplemental pedestrian bridge, bringing the total to at least $19,370,000.

Alternatives exist to address train delays, protect children's safety, and retain the geological and natural treasure that is the Briar East Woods. The Hammond Common Council must consider an alternative overpass or underpass that is located on Grand Avenue. The Governor's Parkway overpass is one mile west of Grand Avenue where the problem crossing is located. In 2019, an overpass on Grand was estimated to cost $8,480,000. 

There are less expensive, more effective, more sustainable solutions to the train problem in Hessville that genuinely provide safe passage over the tracks and also retain the irreplaceable ancient dune woodland.