A high-speed internet cable running from Chicago to southwest Michigan under Lake Michigan is now coming ashore at Jean Klock Park in Benton Harbor, with crews laying new fiber lines that extend from the lake onto land. The park is one of two landing points for the project, known as Critical Crossings. The project also includes a connection point at United Federal Credit Union's headquarters in St. Joseph, where construction was still in progress on August 25, 2026.
A Month More of Digging at the Lakefront Park
Construction at Jean Klock Park is underway, as reported by Moody on the Market. A small underground vault for fiber storage, topped by a manhole cover, is located at the United Federal Credit Union property in St. Joseph. Earlier reporting from WNDU noted that the park's main entrance off Klock Road closed for fiber installation starting in early October, with visitors rerouted to the Grand Avenue entrance for much of that month.
WSJM reported in late August that crews were already on site in St. Joseph preparing the United Federal Credit Union landing location, one of two sites tied to the crossing.
Why Chicago, and Why It Matters for Speed
Right now, internet traffic and facilities for much of the region route through Indiana to reach the Chicago internet exchange point, Greenburg said. The new Lake Michigan route is expected to improve regional internet reliability.
The broader effort, Peninsula Fiber Network's Critical Crossings project, is described by the company as including two underwater fiber connections between the Benton Harbor–St. Joseph area and Chicago, part of a larger plan covering three routes meant to bring middle-mile infrastructure to more than 35,000 homes, according to Peninsula Fiber Network. A 2025 report from WCMU Public Media described one of those routes, Route 1, as running underwater fiber from Benton Harbor to Chicago with on-land fiber continuing north to Byron Center, and noted that construction on the overall $87 million project had begun by August of that year.
Project Cost and Municipal Buildings
Peninsula Fiber Network puts the project's price tag at $87 million, including a $61.2 million grant from the NTIA Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, with PFN and its partner 123NET covering the remaining roughly $26 million themselves. WNDU has reported a project completion target of June 2028.
The project is also expected to bring free internet to several municipal buildings owned by Benton Harbor, Greenburg said. WNDU reported the project would provide seven years of free service at five Benton Harbor public buildings. ABC57 has also reported that the city of Benton Harbor approved a 75-year lease with Peninsula Fiber Network as part of the arrangement.
Construction Continues at Jean Klock Park
For now, construction at Jean Klock Park has left dug-up ground in Benton Harbor.
