Wacker Drive Reconstruction

Chicago/Cook, Illinois

The scope of services for this project consisted of providing construction engineering services for the reconstruction of upper and lower Wacker Drive. DB Sterlin’s responsibilities included inspection of construction activities to verify conformance with contract documents, checking quantities, monitoring construction costs, monitoring of project schedule, processing of pay estimates, and management of project documentation and records. The project involved the reconstruction of the Wacker Drive Viaduct, a reinforced concrete multi-span structure, from Randolph Street to Monroe Street.

The work included complete demolition of the deck, columns and partial foundation removal, improved drainage, lighting and traffic signals, new ventilation for Lower Wacker Drive, rehabilitation of the fixed portions of Randolph, Washington, and Madison Street Bascule bridges, additional caissons, new grade beams, new columns, and a post-tension high-performance concrete deck with latex concrete overlay. In addition to reconstructing the roadways to be safer and more efficient, landscaped medians were built to replace access ramps to Lower Wacker at Jackson, Adams, and Washington, creating green space on the upper-level median. Other green elements included LED traffic signals, the use of recycled steel and concrete, and a stormwater management system designed to route roadway stormwater into a sewer system instead of the Chicago River.