The Chicago Harbor Lock is a monumental structure. Designed and built in 1936 to 1938, it was part of the remarkable engineering feat that reverse the Chicago River so that the city's sewage would flow away from Lake Michigan, not into it. These days, the lock opens and closes for 40,000 ships per years--commercial vessels, tour boats, pleasure crafts and kayaks--according to the US Army Corps of Engineers, which operates it.
Or rather, it did until it was closed on November 1 so that its aging gates and hydraulics could be replaced.
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| McHugh was awarded the nearly $15 million contract to repair the Chicago Harbor Lock. |
We've paddled through the locks many times, so we couldn't resist the opportunity to check out how the job was going. Everything was on a superhuman scale.
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| Two of the four new structural steel sector gate leafs. |
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| Still life with construction equipment and skyscrapers. |
The project is due to be completed by Tax Day , which seems appropriate for a taxpayer-funded project. Between now and then, we'll check on its progress.
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