| Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view in 2024 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 41°38′38″N 87°09′18″W / 41.644°N 87.155°W |
| Statistics | |
| Website http://www.portsofindiana.com/ | |
Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor is an active maritime port owned by the State of Indiana. The state legislature created the Indiana Port Commission in 1961 to research and act upon opening maritime ports on Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline as well as the Ohio River.[1]
Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor opened in 1970 and is located on Lake Michigan at the intersection of U.S. Route 12 and Indiana State Road 249.[2] The primary work done in the adjacent area is the manufacturing of steel at steel mills, and the roster of port tenants is dominated by steel processing companies, although agricultural and other businesses are present. The port is divided between the municipalities of Burns Harbor and Portage.
Construction of Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor was extremely controversial, with conservationists fighting to preserve a segment of the Indiana Dunes that occupied the site of the future port.[3][4][5] The port and its steel mills were constructed on top of what was once the Central Dunes region of the Indiana Dunes and site of some of the hanggliding experiments carried out by a crew led by pioneer aviator Octave Chanute.
Authorization of the Indiana Dunes National Park, which borders Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor on three sides, was part of a political compromise that also involved the construction of the port.
- ^ Ports of Indiana Historic Timeline (2023). "Ports of Indiana History, 1961". Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ Ports of Indiana Historic Timeline (2023). "Ports of Indiana History, 1970". Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. "South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation". Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
- ^ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 1. "South Shore Journal - Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
- ^ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2007). The cultural impact of a museum in a small community: The Hour Glass of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 2. "South Shore Journal - the Cultural Impact of a Museum in a Small Community: The Hour Glass in Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-06-11.