In 2009, the Greater Crown Point Chamber of Commerce and the Merrillville Chamber of Commerce came together as one to become the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce. In 2016, The Windfield/Lake of Four Seasons Chamber joined Crossroads making this chamber the largest in Lake County. All cities are located in Northwest Indiana, with Merrillville situated just north of Crown Point. Crown Point is the county seat.
Merrillville is known as the “downtown” of Northwest Indiana because of its regional shopping and many restaurants.
Roads
The Merrillville, Crown Point and Winfield/Lake of Four Seasons areas are within Lake County, Indiana, approximately 35 miles southeast of the Chicago Loop and just south of Lake Michigan. This location, along with easy access to U.S. 30 and Interstate 65, makes traveling to Chicago for business or pleasure a quick and easy trip. It’s a perfect location for those who want a more suburban lifestyle than that of downtown Chicago but want to be close enough to benefit from all of the economic and cultural opportunities of the city.
rails
For longer trips, Amtrak stations are located in nearby Dyer and Hammond, Indiana, and Homewood, Illinois. The Dyer station operates on The Cardinal line and The Hoosier State line. The Cardinal will take riders from Chicago to New York with stops in Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C. The Hoosier State line runs daily between Indianapolis and Chicago. From the Hammond station, travelers can access three Michigan services lines, and the Homewood station connects riders to the City of New Orleans line with a stop in Memphis along the way. Many of the stops along these lines also offer connections to other Amtrak lines that will take passengers all throughout the country.
Air
Gary Chicago International Airport, considered Chicago’s third airport, has gained much ground over the years and one day soon, it will develop into a powerful economic engine for all of the greater Northwest Indiana area. Northwest Indiana residents are also near enough to Chicago that traveling to O’Hare and Midway airports is another convenient option.
Water
Ports of Indiana operate three ports in the state of Indiana at Burns Harbor, Jeffersonville and Mount Vernon. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is located here in Northwest Indiana and provides transportation of products by truck, rail, barge, ship or container through Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. The Burns Harbor Port is a foreign-trade zone and, according to the Port of Indiana’s website, “handles more ocean-going cargo than any other U.S. Port on the Great Lakes.”