HAMMOND | Beautification work at the city's northern entrance is moving ahead of schedule, the project's architect said this week.

The first phase of the plan to put planters and ornamental landscaping along Indianapolis Boulevard should be completed by early December, William Hutton, of the Hammond architectural firm Hutton & Hutton, told the Redevelopment Commission.

Textured and multicolored concrete medians will provide a frame for perennial flowers, shrubs, trees and ornamental grasses from 114th Street all the way to the Hammond Marina.

Work from the "five points" intersection of 114th Street, Calumet Avenue and Indianapolis Boulevard to the former Vogel's restaurant site at South Parkway Avenue should be done by the end of the year, said Thomas Kuhn, Port Authority board president, with the rest finished by next summer.

A third of the $1.5 million project is funded by the Redevelopment Commission through tax collections from its lakefront allocation area, with the Hammond Port Authority providing much of the rest.

The design calls for in-ground irrigation for low-maintenance and drought-resistant foliage in the median areas, with recessed lighting for night accents.

Port Authority Director Milan Kruszynski said Robertsdale residents have wanted improvements to the streetscape for the better part of a decade, and the landscaping will help create a positive aesthetic impression.

Adjacent industries Unilever and Cargill will be helping the overall effect by upgrading the landscaping on their properties and maintaining their sidewalks, said Rick Calinski, executive director of planning and development.

And despite ongoing state highway work on Indianapolis Boulevard, no traffic has had to be re-routed because of the project, Hutton said.