Residents of Gary’s Miller Beach neighborhood who were frustrated by last year’s road repair work in their neighborhood should prepare themselves for the second phase of the project along Lake Street.

Repair work, which was scheduled to began Wednesday, is expected to last through mid-November, with officials admitting the Lake Street project will not be completed until 2020. If officials can get ahead of schedule this year, it would result in the overall project being complete by summer, instead of autumn, 2020.

Officials say the greater project is meant to improve the traffic flow along Lake Street, along with parking, to benefit the business community in Miller. Officials also say an improved Lake Street would benefit their long-range goal of seeing a resort built at the northern end of the street on the Lake Michigan shoreline.

That project ran into a roadblock last week when the Gary Redevelopment Commission admitted that no one had submitted bids to express interest in developing the site.

While that project is still pending, city officials are proceeding with their Lake Street improvement plan. Last year’s first phase of the project was to improve sewer lines throughout the neighborhood, while this year will see work done on Lake Street and side roads.

Contractors will prepare existing trees for removal on Lake Street between Seventh and Third 3rd avenues. They eventually will be replaced with trees and shrubs that are indigenous to the area.

Automobile traffic on Lake Street will be controlled with a moving-flag operation, while Public Works officials admit there will be some loss of access to vehicle parking at points of time during the preparatory work.

Gary Material Supply, the overall contractor for the Lake Street project, said this year’s work will be done in four phases.

The first phase involving Third and Fifth avenues, the south side of Fifth Place, Old Miller Avenue, Miller Avenue and alleys is to begin Monday.

By July 30, work on Fourth and Sixth avenues, the north side of Fifth Place, and the Miller Avenue alleyway will begin.

Work is expected to begin Aug. 20 on the east side of Lake Street from Third to Seventh avenues, while the final phase is scheduled to begin Sept. 20 on the east side of Lake Street between Third and Seventh avenues.

Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.