Hammond To Survey Residents On Whether To Reopen Busy But Bumpy Road At State Line
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There is another twist in the dispute between an Indiana city, a Chicago neighborhood and a pothole-ridden road connecting them.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott now says he will take a survey from North Hammond residents on whether to keep the busy-but-bumpy 134th Street closed for good.
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"If you live in--there's probably 3,000 homes--if you're a registered voter in that area, you're going to get a survey," McDermott said Friday on his radio show. "Probably by a week from now."
McDermott said he has gotten compliments and complaints since he closed the road two weeks ago with no warning to the City of Chicago. Drivers describe it as a popular shortcut between Hammond and Chicago's Southeast Side.
The City of Chicago patched its side of the road up after a CBS 2 report exposed car damage from the road last month.
The next day, the City of Hammond shut its side down and said it would decide whether the repairs are worth the costs.
Janice Manarin, a resident of Chicago's Hegewisch neighborhood, said she used the road to buy gas and cigarettes in Hammond.
"I think there should be input from both sides," Manaran said.
McDermott said in a Facebook post that he values opinions outside of North Hammond, but he says his first priority is to "ensure the safety and well-being of residents most inconvenienced by the constant traffic generated by Boy Scout Road," also known as 134th.
"It's convenient for both sides. Not just for Chicago," North Hammond resident Gilbert Barrera said. "The people in Indiana, they use it too."
"They take our tax money, so why don't they just fill the potholes with the tax money that we give them?" North Hammond resident Jenna Almaiah said.
The next closest detour from 134th Street is more than a mile south at Gostlin Street.
A source in the Chicago 10th Ward alderman's office said the City of Hammond last gave them an update more than a week ago, when Hammond officials said they were looking into repair costs.