By Passenger Train Journal Staff

HAMMOND, Ind. — Officials broke ground on a 7.8-mile extension of the South Shore Line in northwest Indiana on October 29, the Chicago Tribune reports. The West Lake Extension will connect Hammond with Munster and Dyer and include four new stations. The project is expected to cost $945 million and take four years to complete. 

The project has been in the works for decades and is being funded in-part with money from the Federal Transit Administration. The extension will enable passengers to go from Dyer to downtown Chicago in just 45 minutes. “I guarantee you can’t drive to Chicago from here in 45 minutes,” said South Shore President Michael Noland. 

Construction is expected to begin in the middle of the 7.8-mile route and head south before heading north. The groundbreaking ceremony can be watched online.