Kankakee logjam at state line to be cleared

A logjam on the Kankakee River at the Indiana-Illinois border will be removed soon, the Indiana commission in charge of the river decided recently.

The Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission selected a contractor on Sept. 26, to remove the logjam at the State Line Bridge for $19,000.

Scott Pelath, the commission’s executive director, said the work will be done this year.

Debris that has piled up at the low bridge, built in the early 1900s, has created a hazard for boaters and has caused water to back up, especially when the river is high.

Pelath said he has been told that the logjam there now is one of the worst ever, and vegetation is growing in the sediment that has piled up there. The bridge’s historic nature has complicated proposals by Lake County officials to remove or replace it.

In addition, Pelath said the commission voted to proceed with turning the Thayer Farm in Newton County into a flood storage area. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources will create a gated channel so the land can be flooded when the river is high, helping to relieve some of the pressure on other nearby property.

Consultants who completed a recent study of Kankakee recommended that similar water-storage areas be developed along the river. The commission formally adopted a work plan based on that study, Pelath said.

The commission’s next meeting will be Oct. 24 in Crown Point.