US-12 Past Long Beach Is Going to Three Lanes. INDOT's Own Traffic Counts Explain Why.

"In response to prior changes in traffic patterns along this corridor, the project proposes right sizing lane re-configurations for sections of U.S. 12 between the Porter/LaPorte County line and the Michigan state line."

That sentence comes from the Indiana Department of Transportation's legal notice for the US-12 project. As of this week, it's a funded contract. INDOT opened bids on October 7, 2026, and the official bid tabulation dated October 16 shows Rieth-Riley Construction Co. of Goshen as the awarded low bidder at $13,597,654. Under the plan, US-12 drops from two through lanes in each direction to one, and the leftover pavement becomes a center two-way left-turn lane.

If you live in Long Beach, Duneland Beach or Michiana Shores, this is the road you use to get to the grocery store, the outlets and I-94. INDOT's own traffic data puts the change in a clearer light. The four-lane road east of Blue Chip was built for more traffic than it carries now, and INDOT doesn't expect that to change much over the next twenty years.

The counts behind "excess lanes"

The project's road plans split the corridor into three segments. Each one has a 2024 traffic count and a 2044 projection, measured as average vehicles per day.

The stretch that runs past Long Beach carries about 3,300 fewer vehicles a day than the segment through Michigan City between Wabash and Blue Chip. INDOT expects it to add roughly 426 vehicles a day over two decades, which works out to about 6 percent. The legal notice calls the lanes being converted "existing excess lanes." Set against those counts, the phrase describes a road with more lanes than the traffic needs, now or in 2044.

INDOT's stated goals go beyond pavement. The notice lists improving "traffic pattern consistency," reducing "bicycle and pedestrian exposure to roadway vehicles," and accommodating bicycle connectivity, along with fixing worn asphalt. A center turn lane fits all of those goals. Drivers waiting to turn left get a lane of their own instead of stopping in a through lane, and the road stays one lane in each direction for its whole length instead of switching back and forth.

Why congestion was the local complaint anyway

On a road that carries fewer cars than it was built for, congestion sounds like a contradiction. That's still what brought local officials to the table. According to the Town of Long Beach's September 14, 2026 council minutes, Michiana Shores town president Diana Dumbrys reached out to INDOT about US-12 congestion. That led to an August 24 meeting with INDOT Deputy Commissioner Matt Deichely, Adam Parkhouse of INDOT, State Representative Randal Novak, State Senator Michael Bohacek, and representatives of Michiana Shores, the Duneland Beach Association and the Town of Long Beach.

The minutes say traffic studies came up repeatedly at that meeting. They also record a council member's view that INDOT's decisions "have been made and this was an informational meeting." The formal window for input had closed months earlier. INDOT's notice asked for written comments or hearing requests by December 6, 2025, and said a hearing would happen only if it was found to be in the public interest.

At about 7,450 vehicles a day, the backups people notice on this stretch likely depend more on when the traffic arrives and how it turns than on how much of it there is. A summer weekend surge, or one driver stopped in a through lane waiting to turn left, can slow a road that looks quiet on an annual average. The project documents don't connect the lane change to congestion in those terms, and the studies mentioned at the August meeting weren't released with the minutes. The center turn lane goes straight at the turning problem, though. Whether it eases the backups Michiana Shores raised will only be clear once it's striped and driven.

What the $13.6 million contract covers

The resurfacing gets most of the attention, but the contract bundles three projects under one award. These are the parts that matter most for daily driving, from west to east:

1. Beverly Drive and County Line Road. The two road stubs that now connect Beverly Drive to County Line Road and to US-12 will be replaced with one realigned intersection. The curve and banking on US-12 there will be corrected, and twin concrete culverts under the road will be swapped for a single larger one.
2. Singing Sands Trail crossing. About 300 feet of road at the west end will be widened so a bike lane can extend from the trail crossing toward the west Mt. Baldy drive, keeping a 6-foot buffer between cars and bikes at the median island.
3. Douglas Avenue guardrail. Damaged guardrail on the north side of US-12 will be replaced and extended to protect people on the Singing Sands Trail.
4. Two modernized traffic signals. The existing signals at Liberty Trail and North Karwick Road have failing foundations and have outlived their design life. Both will be modernized.
5. Curb ramps at 17 intersections in Michigan City will be rebuilt to meet ADA standards.
6. Mill and overlay of the asphalt for the full length, plus new signs, replacement drainage pipes and added railroad crossing signage.

The bidding came in close to INDOT's expectations. The engineer's estimate was $12,936,786.88. Rieth-Riley's bid came in above that, and Milestone Contractors bid $16,046,758.33. INDOT notes the award was allowed because the low bid fell within 15 percent of its estimate. The notice had put the overall project cost at $15,429,449, paid with federal and state funds.

Most of the construction is at the west end. Past Long Beach, the change you'll see day to day is the new striping and fresh pavement.

Driving it while crews are out

The traffic plan in INDOT's notice keeps the road open. Paving will use single-lane closures with flaggers, at least one lane in each direction stays open the whole time, and the signal work at Liberty Trail and Karwick will follow the same setup.

"An official state route full closure detour will utilize I-94, U.S. 20, S.R. 520 and U.S. 12 during the small structure replacements and Beverly Drive reconfiguration."

That full closure is limited to the culvert and Beverly Drive work near the county line, not the stretch near Long Beach. INDOT says access to all properties will be kept open, and school districts and emergency services will be told about closures in advance.

The dates still on the calendar

No construction start has been published since the award. The earlier dates in the record were set before the October letting. The notice listed "Summer of 2026" as the proposed start, and the Long Beach minutes recorded an expected April 2026 start. Both have passed. The one completion target on record comes from the town's account of the August meeting, which says the project should "hopefully conclude in the fall of 2027."

The plans also don't spell out block by block where the three-lane sections begin and end. The notice says only "sections" between the county line and the state line, and doesn't list the 17 curb-ramp intersections by name. Updates will most likely show up in two places. One is INDOT's US-12 project page for Contract R-43027, which hosts the plans and environmental document and had no events listed as of its last update. The other is the Town of Long Beach, which said it would put the project information in its upcoming newsletter and on its website.

Until a start date is set, the four-lane US-12 you drove to Trunk or Treat this month is the one you'll be plowing through this winter.

If you're weighing a listing, an addition or a move while US-12 is torn up, it helps to talk with someone who follows this corridor closely. Meghan Maddox is glad to walk you through what the timing could mean for your Long Beach home. When you're ready, request a free home valuation.