January 22, 2016 – It was 13 degrees along the Chicago River on Tuesday. The parts of the Riverwalk that are open were deserted. On the three stretches west of LaSalle Street, it was business as usual for construction workers building Water Plaza, Jetty, and Boardwalk, the last three “rooms” of the Riverwalk that will, in warmer months, connect Lake Michigan to Lake Street.

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LaSalle to Wells. (Above) West of LaSalle Street, the surface of the Chicago River is mostly frozen but there is still water in places where it should not be. Workers are busy pumping that water back into the river and wrangling rebar, the green rods that will give the concrete extra strength.

(Left) The work, as seen from the LaSalle Street Bridge. In the distance, an L train heads into the Loop along the Wells Street Bridge.

Wells to Franklin. (Above) In front of Merchandise Mart, 70-foot-long H piles – the slender, square beams – appear encased in ice. The white crane at upper right is driving into place the taller pile at left. Franklin to Lake. (Right) West of Franklin street, metal sheet piles define the edge of the new Riverwalk, stretching toward the Lake Street Bridge in the distance. (Below) Between Clark and LaSalle Streets on January 7, workers assemble forms, into which concrete will be poured.