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Under-bridge Riverwalk work delayed until May
(Above) A crane on a construction barge in front of Marina City moves a 75-foot-long beam from another barge to the south bank of the Chicago River, where it will be pounded into the riverfront. (Click on image to view larger version.) April 18, 2014 – The Chicago Riverwalk’s construction manager now says work under three Chicago River bridges – that will require the bridges to be up for seven days at a time – will begin in the second week of May. In March, Oswaldo Chaves said the work would start in mid-April. While providing an update on Friday, Chaves offered no explanation for the delay. He and other officials with Chicago Department of Transportation have refused to explain an apparent lull in construction that lasted at least a few days until pile driving resumed on April 9. The bridges at State, Dearborn, and Clark Streets will be raised, one at a time, to accommodate construction of the Riverwalk below the south leaf of each bridge. While a bridge is up, crews will work 24 hours a day. Two to three weeks will pass between one bridge lowering and the next being raised. Most of the machinery noise will be heard during the day, promised Chaves in March. He says the noise will be similar to the engine of a large truck that is accelerating. Otherwise, Chaves had slow but steady progress to report. From State Street west to LaSalle Street, workers are still removing old concrete, installing tie rods that will hold up the river wall and walers that align and brace the wall. For the next few weeks, piles will continue to be pounded into the riverbank, both the larger vertical H-pile beams and the longer sections of sheet pile that will form the river wall. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Construction equipment starts up at 6:30 a.m. The north sidewalk of Wacker Drive is still closed between Clark and LaSalle. Recent updates… |
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