ALBANY PARK — The Albany Park Storm Water Diversion Tunnel reached a major milestone over the weekend as officials declared blasting operations complete on both the intake and outlet shafts.
“We’re pleased that the blasting has been completed and the project is moving ahead on schedule,” Rebekah Scheinfeld, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, said in a statement.
“The tunnel underneath Foster Avenue is more than halfway complete and we’re starting to work on the channel that will allow overflow from the North Branch to flow into the intake shaft," Scheinfeld said.
When complete, the tunnel will run for approximately one mile, 150 feet below Foster Avenue. The pipe will divert overflow from the North Branch of the Chicago River away from homes in Albany Park and North Park, releasing the water into the North Shore Channel downstream.
Regular explosions were needed to blast through limestone bedrock to carve out the intake and outlet shafts, which measure 40 feet wide. The intake is located near Eugene Field Park and the outlet is situated in River Park.
A tunnel boring machine is now chewing its way from the outlet shaft to the intake.
The project's scope also encompasses improvements at both shafts, including landscaping and a fountain at the intake and a soccer field and regulation-size baseball field in River Park.
The tunnel was announced in 2013, after catastrophic flooding saw some residents evacuated from their homes via boat, when the river crested at nearly nine feet. Seven feet is considered "flood stage."
Construction on the tunnel began in 2016 and is on track to wrap up in spring 2018.
