Check Out Progress Of Horner Park Riverbank Restoration, One Year Later

IRVING PARK — At the midway point of a five-year restoration project, Horner Park's riverbank is showing signs of new life.

Tours conducted over the weekend took groups of curious neighbors for a sneak peek at the work in progress behind the construction fencing that's been in place since 2014.

^{On the left, the riverbank in 2015; on the right, the riverbank in 2016. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli; Facebook/Horner Park Advisory Council, Annette Rozmin]}

In sharp contrast with 2015's tour, the shoreline between Montrose Avenue and Irving Park Road is now awash in well established native plants including wild rye, milkweed, cone flowers and an abundance of sunny black-eyed susans.

^{On the left, a view of the slope in 2015; on the right, in 2016. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli; Facebook/Horner Park Advisory Council, Annette Rozmin]}

The $6 million restoration — 65 percent funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 35 percent by the Chicago Park District — is designed to halt erosion and create a gentler slope that makes the riverbank more accessible to park visitors.

^{On the left, a wetlands area in 2015; on the right, the wetlands in 2016. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli; Facebook/Horner Park Advisory Council, Annette Rozmin]}

The project's managers estimate that the restoration area will remain off limits to the public until fall 2018 in order to give plantings time to take hold before subjecting them to potentially harmful foot traffic.

To learn more about the project, click on the video below and take the tour yourself.

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