Concerns are rising about the safety of an intersection at Ind. 49 and County Road 100 E, especially as business growth brings more traffic into the Coffee Creek development in Chesterton.

There is no traffic light at the four-way intersection that’s an entrance to Coffee Creek.

Dunkin Donuts and Chipotle Mexican Grill have opened, and a Popeyes restaurant with double drive-thru lanes is nearly finished.

Net Par, an indoor golf facility, has also brought more traffic, along with the Allen Law Group and businesses in its building.

“The main safety issue is for drivers attempting to cross east to west or west to east across four lanes of active traffic,” Police Chief Tim Richardson said.

The Duneland School Corporation’s garage is located near the intersection and school buses enter Ind. 49 from County Road 100 E, also called Voyage Boulevard.

Between the four lanes of traffic, there is a crossover. Vehicles, ranging from cars to huge semi-trailer trucks, are traveling at 50 mph or more on Ind. 49, a north-south thoroughfare.There has been an increasing number of crashes with a serious injury accident last year, Richardson said.

Chesterton town officials have also noted that lighting around the intersection needs to be enhanced to improve nighttime safety.

Councilman James Ton, R-1st, reported during a recent council meeting that he and Richardson had a successful meeting on June 24 with Indiana Department of Transportation officials about bringing safety upgrades for the intersection.

It was the second time Ton had met with INDOT about the Coffee Creek intersection. Ton said he believed the town fared better with this meeting, as INDOT officials stated they would address the situation.

INDOT has primary responsibility for Ind. 49, because it is a state route, Ton said.

In the past few years, the town of Chesterton was able to get improvements such as the addition of two turn lanes for each side of the Ind. 49 intersection at Indian Boundary Road, along with the development of pedestrian crosswalks.

INDOT also enacted designated truck lanes on Ind. 49 and developed median crossovers for law enforcement use.

“These improvements took time and did not happen overnight,” Ton said.

Cassie Bajek, spokeswoman for INDOT, said that the agency recognizes there is a need for a

“With the long lead time for projects, it’s too early to say exactly what the project design will be, ” Bajek said. The engineers are looking at some type of “intersection modification” project to improve safety, Bajek said.

INDOT is also looking at some potential short-term solutions to bridge the gap.

“No final decisions have been made about what that might look like for the intersection just yet, but we are having that conversation internally,” Bajek said.

Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.