"The previous entry, via Joliet Street to Kennedy Ave. north, no longer exists." That sentence comes from the Town of Schererville's October 2 construction update, and it matters more for daily routines than anything else in the notice.
That update scheduled Kennedy Avenue south of Junction Avenue to reopen to local traffic on Friday, October 16, and the Town Dump to reopen Monday, October 19. Neither change returns things to the way they were before June. The roads around the Public Works yard have been rebuilt, the familiar turn has been removed, and the biggest piece of the project, the bridge over the railroad tracks, hasn't started.
The Way Into Public Works Moved, and It Isn't Moving Back
The Town set October 16 as the reopening date for the Phase 2 stretch of Kennedy south of Junction Avenue, for local traffic only. It isn't a through route yet, and the update says plainly that the roadway "will not accommodate thru traffic."
Junction Avenue has been realigned, and it is now the only way into a group of town offices that many households visit a few times a year. Here is how the Town describes access right now:
| Where you're going | How to get there now |
|---|---|
| Public Works, Wastewater, Animal Control | Joliet Street to Junction Avenue only |
| Homes and businesses on Junction Avenue | Joliet Street to the realigned Junction Avenue |
| Businesses on Kennedy north of Junction | From the north via Kennedy at Main Street, or via Division Street |
| North Kennedy from Junction | No access at this time |
The last row changes how a lot of errands work. Junction no longer connects to north Kennedy, and businesses north of Junction can't be reached from the south at all. A trip that combines the dump with a stop on north Kennedy now means going back out to Joliet and coming around by Main Street or Division Street.
The Town also says more closures will follow as its contractor, FH Paschen, works on the rest of the project. Updates are posted to the Kennedy Avenue project page and the Town's social media accounts.
Four Months Without a Town Dump, Ending in Leaf Season
The new Junction Avenue route connects directly to the Town Dump. That's why the dump was closed for most of the summer, and why its return falls at a good time.
The Town's May 29 notice closed the dump at 3 p.m. on June 5, 2026, "until further notice." The reasons it gave: new water main and stormwater work, utility relocations for NIPSCO, AT&T and Comcast, and the rebuild of the Kennedy, Junction and Kaeser Boulevard intersection, with "very limited access" to Public Works during heavy construction.
During the closure, residents were sent to the Republic Services Transfer Station at 1155 Birch Avenue, two blocks east of US 41 and 65th Avenue. The Town noted that it charges by the weight of the load. Tire recycling at Public Works was suspended as well, and the Town pointed residents to the Lake County Solid Waste Management District's tire recycling locations.
The October 2 update set the reopening for Monday, October 19, at 7 a.m. That's about 19 weeks after the closure, and it comes just as the Town's fall leaf pickup gets going.
Before You Load the Truck
The dump is at 540 Kaeser Boulevard, at the Public Works Department, and it's run on rules that are easy to forget after four months. The Town's posted dump rules cover the basics:
- Hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Special Saturday hours run 8 a.m. to noon on the first Saturdays of May, August and November. On this year's calendar, the November Saturday is November 7.
- Who can use it: Schererville residents only, with ID.
- How much: one pickup truck load per household, no larger than one cubic yard.
- What it's for: occasional, small amounts of household waste.
- What it won't take: construction debris, electronics, hazardous materials, asphalt, concrete and shingles, among other items.
The Town's dump page doesn't list every yard-waste material it accepts. If you're planning a fall cleanup run, a call to Public Works before you load up is the reliable way to check, especially now that you have to come in from Joliet.
Leaves Go to the Curb, and Branches Have Their Own Rules
For many households, the dump is the backup option. Curbside collection does most of the fall work, and the Town's branch and leaf pickup guidelines are specific.
Leaves need to be loose and piled separately from branches. Branch pickup covers trimmed tree and bush branches no more than six inches in diameter. It doesn't include contractor-cut branches, weeds, grass clippings, or garden waste mixed into a branch pile. Piles go in the parkway by 7 a.m. on the Monday of your designated week. Leaf piles are collected only from homes that pay the Town for trash service.
The 2026 Public Works calendar runs fall leaf pickup from October through December, weather permitting, and alternates weeks between the north and south sides of US 30. On the October grid, the week of October 12 was the north side's week and the week of October 19 is the south side's. For the rest of the season, check the calendar for your week.
Here the project shows up again. The Town keeps a list of "flagger streets," where residents call Public Works after placing a pile, and Kennedy Avenue from Junction to Main is on it. If you live on that stretch, the road outside your house is changing, and you also have one extra step in your leaf routine.
The Crossing the Whole Project Is Built Around
The detours and the summer dump closure are side effects. The reason for the project is the railroad crossing on Kennedy between Scherland Drive and Division Street.
The Federal Railroad Administration describes it as "one of the worst in northwestern Indiana," citing major delays for travelers, including emergency vehicles, and numerous rear-end crashes every year. The agency's Finding of No Significant Impact says the crossing carries close to 10,000 vehicles a day over two active Wisconsin Central Limited/Canadian National tracks, and those tracks carry 32 trains a day. Two inactive Norfolk Southern tracks cross there too.
The plan replaces that at-grade crossing with a bridge and widens about 2,000 feet of Kennedy from two lanes to four between Division Street and Scherland Drive. It also includes new sidewalks, water main and sewer line work, a stormwater detention basin, and planting along the Seberger Ditch floodway, which the bridge crosses as well.
The October 2 update says road work on that bridge segment has been minimal so far, mainly because utility relocations took longer than expected. That work is now nearly done for both Phase 1 and Phase 2, and the Town expects bridge construction to start in February or March 2027.
The two phases also split the cost very differently. At its May 14, 2025 meeting, the Town Council approved the Phase 1 bridge contract at $17,446,034.09, with a town share of $2,286,495.62. It approved the Phase 2 road contract at $16,480,171.64, with a town share of $7,746,122.64. Both contracts went to FH Paschen through INDOT. The bridge is the larger contract but carries the smaller local share, and it is funded in part by the FRA's Fiscal Year 2023 Railroad Crossing Elimination grant program.
What 2031 Means for the Pennsy Greenway and the Rest of Kennedy
The bridge and the Junction work are two of four phases. The Town's project page describes about 2.46 miles of widening and reconstruction from US 30 to Main Street, with turn lanes added at both ends. Phases 1 and 2 are each estimated to run from 2025 to 2028. The full project is scheduled to run from 2025 to 2031.
Kennedy isn't the only road in the plan. Sections of Joliet Street, Junction Avenue, Public Works Drive/Kaeser Boulevard, Division Street, Oak Street and the Pennsy Greenway are also scheduled for reconstruction. If you ride or walk the Greenway, expect the trail to come up in future project notices, and check the Town's updates before heading toward Kennedy on the trail.
For now, the practical changes are clear. Kennedy south of Junction was scheduled to open to local traffic on October 16. The dump was scheduled to reopen October 19, on weekday hours plus the morning of November 7. Every trip to Public Works, Wastewater or Animal Control now goes through Joliet Street and Junction Avenue, and the old turn from Joliet onto north Kennedy is gone.
If the Kennedy Avenue changes have you rethinking how you get around your corner of Schererville, or how long construction might last near a home you're thinking of selling, I'm happy to talk it through using the Town's timeline. Reach out to Lizanne Pilot whenever it's convenient. Let's Connect.
