Kankakee Commission to Remove State Line Bridge
Published: Friday, November 6, 2026
A push to improve the flow of the Kankakee and Yellow rivers in northern Indiana is about to reach a major milestone later this month when the State Line Bridge will be removed. Officials with the Kankakee and Yellow River Basin Development Commission met last Wednesday near the LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area in southern Lake County to celebrate the achievement.
"It's an exciting day for me," said Scott Pelath, executive director of the commission a former state legislator from LaPorte County. "I grew up on the Kankakee River, right on the LaPorte-Starke county line. For the majority of my childhood and my youth, I got to witness the overflowing of the Kankakee when we would see all those rains."
State Line Bridge, known locally as Bridge 36, has been closed to traffic since 2000, which is why commission members jokingly refer to it as "the bridge to nowhere."
Resting about 3 feet above the Kankakee River, the bridge, though historic in nature, impedes the flow of water during periods of heavy precipitation. It also prevents boaters from navigating the waterway on both sides of the state line.
Before the bridge could be removed, the commission had to get permits from the Indiana DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Pelath also credited Gov. Braun for moving the project along.
"With the help of many of you, we finally got to a point where we could legislate on correcting this," Pelath said. "Because it did need to get fixed. We do need to control how the water flows through there. The majority of (the obstructions) are sediments and trees."
On hand for the celebration were members of the commission, along with State Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie), State Rep. Mike Aylesworth (R-Hebron), DNR Director Alan Morrison, several farmers and advisory members to the commission. One representative from Gov. Braun's office also delivered remarks.
Removal of the bridge comes at a cost of $2.5 million, but commission members say that, considering the long history of emergency debris clearance, crop losses and infrastructure damage, it is money well spent.
Aylesworth said the process of taming the Kankakee River has been decades in the making. Dredging began in 1872 in western St. Joseph and progressed at the rate of two miles per year, he said.
"It's took for 40 years to get down here at the state line," he said. "People criticize us for wanting to drain the (Grand Kankakee) marsh, but we have to remember national public policy under the Swamplands Act of 1848 and 1850 was to drain the marshes and make them productive farmland. The federal government gave their ownership to the states so they could pay for the draining."
Aylesworth, who is also a farmer, has experienced major crop losses when the Kankakee overflows its banks. He said removal of the bridge is a high point in the overall work of the Kankakee and Yellow River Basin Commission.
Morrison said the DNR partnered with the commission to install flood control devices along the state-owned property. Many people come to the LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area to fish and hunt for waterfowl.
"Once we get this bridge out of the way, Hoosiers can float down to Illinois and vice versa and then come up and fish," he said. "There is an annual fee for out-of-state fishing licenses. It's a $60 fee or a one-week $15 fee."
Tony Ferraro, senior policy advisor to Gov. Braun, said the restoration work on the Kankakee River is an example of state government partnering with federal and local agencies to accomplish something big.
"What we begin today—the removal of Bridge 36—is the visible result of those years of persistence," he said. "It is also the culmination of decades of work by dedicated Hoosiers who refused to accept that a low clearance, long-closed structure should continue to trap debris, obstruct flood waters, and put productive land and livelihoods at risk."
Work on the Kankakee and Yellow rivers has been ongoing for several years. The commission was created in 2019, when lawmakers approved an initial $2.3-million investment to improve flood resilience on the two rivers. Pelath said the restoration work has made a big difference so far.
Once the bridge is removed, it will be disassembled and stored at the Lake County Highway Department near Lowell.
On a sad note, Pelath remarked on the recent passing of Bill Crase, Starke County surveyor and treasurer of the Kankakee commission. Pelath said he played an important role in the work of the commission.
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