EAST CHICAGO – Most people know Aldis Drive as "the row by the lakefront," but Mayor Anthony Copeland had another name for it: eyesore.
Now, thanks to a $1.3 million slice of a $39 million grant from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority to the city, three acres along Aldis Drive will get a full-on makeover. Copeland, along with other city dignitaries, broke ground on the latest lakefront project Wednesday morning.
Along with two parking lots that will yield 334 parking spaces – including some boat-trailer parking – the road will be repaved, and landscaping will be installed all along the way. The project will also see the overpass parallel to ArcelorMittal Steel and connecting to Cline Avenue redone, Copeland said.
The newly transformed Aldis Street will lead into Jeorse Park and the lakefront, of which redevelopment started last year. During that phase, a splash pad on the beach, roundabout taking place of the bridge entering the park and a redirection of the water coming into the beach were started.
"This area has been neglected," Copeland said, pointing out the pits and holes in the road. "We're going to give it the gateway treatment, because you can't fix up one part and do nothing to the others."
The bridge reconstruction, on the other hand, will be paid through a matching grant with the Indiana Department of Transportation, Copeland said.
East Chicago Councilwoman Gilda Orange's 6th District encompasses the lakefront project. Out to take part in the groundbreaking, Orange believes the lakefront will once again be a destination.
"We were just talking about how there used to be swings and picnic tables here," Orange said. "My children, the oldest of whom is 35, have never seen anything this beneficial come to the city.
"It took a lot of time, but I'm proud of the work we're doing here, and I'll be glad when my son can bring his kids here."