Neighbors share traffic, noise concerns about proposed Capital Ave. railroad expansion

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- Railroad concerns once again in St. Joseph County.

Plans to expand railroad tracks along Capital Avenue are seemingly back on the table for county officials after almost two years.

Neighbors are speaking out again about the concerns for the future of their neighborhoods, even backyards, if this proposal goes through.

St. Joseph County Councilman Andy Rutten decided to host a public meeting Monday evening regarding the project so neighbors could learn more information and get some questions answered.

For many neighbors, hearing about the public meeting was how they learned the railroad expansion proposal was even back on the table.

"It was very much a blindside that this was even getting proposed," says Amanda Ellinger, a Mishawaka resident.

Ellinger lives on Currant Road in Mishawka close to the train tracks on Day Road.

"We already get stopped by the one on Day that's currently already there," Ellinger says.

But she could live even closer to another railroad crossing, right down the street from her home on Currant Road by McKinley Highway.

"Both sides of us would be cut off to a railroad," Ellinger says.

Right now, the commission is deciding whether to conduct a pre-design engineering study.

If approved, the project would extend railroad tracks from McKinley Highway north along Capital Avenue to Cleveland Road.

Ellinger says the second crossing would surely interrupt her travel to and from town.

"And then they've got the data center and the car dealership that's going in down there that's going to affect traffic," Ellinger says. "So how are we supposed to get out of here if they put in another railroad track down our street or another railroad track on Day Road?"

She's also worried about the noise.

"I mean, you can hear, it's nice and quiet here," Ellinger points out. "It wouldn't be that way if we had a railroad blasting through our neighborhood."

A video posted in the "No Rail Extension St. Joseph County" Facebook group shows what life is like for folks who live along the patriot rail already, with a loud train passing by.

If the proposal rolls through, that is a very likely possibility for neighbors on Willow Creek Drive, whose properties back up to Capital Avenue.

This isn't a new fight though; the same proposal was on the table in 2024 in front of the Saint Joseph County Council.

"There was some significant opposition then," explains Andy Rutten, St. Joseph County Councilman. "The County Economic Department who is sponsoring it, they decided to withdraw this proposal a year ago. And so, we thought maybe it's done; it was just not a popular idea. Well then it was resurrected a few weeks ago, but this time in front of the County Commissioners."

Commissioners tabled the proposal in their February 24 meeting.

Along with concerns about neighborhood disruption, Councilman Rutten points out the cost of just doing the study using public taxpayer grant money: eight hundred thousand dollars from the federal government and one hundred thousand from county government.

"I think people need to consider, should public money be sued to find this study for the extension of a private railroad?" Rutten asks.

All things for neighbors to question before the county makes a vote on the proposal.

"They're just trying to wear us down," says Ellinger. "They're just going to keep doing this and we're just going to keep fighting. Because we don't want this in our area."

It's unclear when or if the proposal will be back on the County Commissioner's agenda for a vote.