Bids expected soon on next stretch of Chicago Riverwalk

(Above) Rendering of Marina Plaza, one of three blocks of the Riverwalk which are out for bid right now. Click on images to view larger versions.

September 18, 2013 – Construction bids are expected “shortly,” according to the Chicago Department of Transportation, to build the next three blocks of the Chicago Riverwalk, from State Street to LaSalle Street.

Six blocks remain of the Riverwalk, which the city now has the money to finish, and construction could start this year on the first three blocks while planners design the last three blocks.

“We have our fingers crossed for really great bids,” said Carol Ross Barney (left), a principal of Ross Barney Architects, on board Chicago’s First Lady last Thursday. “When those bids are received, hopefully, this fall construction will begin on the next three blocks of the Riverwalk.”

The three blocks, or “rooms” as planners call them, for which construction bids have been requested are Marina Plaza, located across from Marina City and stretching along the south bank of the Chicago River from State Street to Dearborn Street, Cove, from Dearborn Street to Clark Street, and River Theater from Clark Street to LaSalle Street.

Ross Barney Architects collaborated on the design of these rooms with Sasaki Associates, Alfred Benesch & Company, Jacobs/Ryan Associates, and Schuler Shook Inc. The firm also designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and a stretch of the Riverwalk that passes under Wabash Avenue.

On June 13, the mayor’s office announced the city had been approved for a $99 million loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation to keep building the Riverwalk. Rahm Emanual says the loan will help “turn the Chicago River from an industrial highway into the city’s new transportation destination.”

(Below) Map of Chicago Riverwalk “rooms” from State Street west to Lake Street.