Albany Park Stormwater Diversion Tunnel Completed
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After two historic floods, and years of promises, people living in the Albany Park neighborhood can rest easy now that an 18-foot wide stormwater diversion tunnel is complete.
The tunnel is welcome relief for people whose homes have filled with water during heavy rain in the past, or who are constantly worried about being the next flooding victim.
It was a huge undertaking by the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
The $70 million project features an 18-foot wide tunnel that sits about 150 feet under Foster Avenue. When it rains, stormwater is diverted from the North Branch of the Chicago River to the North Shore Channel drainage canal, about 1.4 miles from a bend in the river near Eugene Park.
The two-year project was designed to provide relief from flooding caused by heavy rains that have overwhelmed the neighborhood in the past.
Several residents have seen homes and possessions destroyed in catastrophic floods in 2008 and 2013.
It wasn't a fun wait to get to this point. Construction crews spent several months blasting through the ground, sending vibrations across the neighborhood.
Project workers also had to rip up Eugene and River parks, but both will be restored with new fields and amenities.
