CHICAGO | River Point | 730 FT | 52 FLOORS

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by headcase

LINK TO CHICAGOIST

Looks like this is getting a Gibson's....AT THE TOP!



And the Eater Link

SSDD

I thought Gibson's was taking that little side structure north of the main tower. I seriously doubt the 52nd floor has a retractable roof.

Chicagoist clearly misread the Eater article.

[vexxed82]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

I thought Gibson's was taking that little side structure north of the main tower. I seriously doubt the 52nd floor has a retractable roof.

Chicagoist clearly misread the Eater article.

Took this in October. Perhaps an odd horseshoe-shaped restaurant can be built up there, but not sure how it'll get much of a view- let alone one with a view.

[KWILLSKYLINE]

The short section to the north is three floors with outdoor pace so im sure they can put two outdoor balcany areas on 2 and 3. Maybe thats what they are referring to as "rooftop".

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

I thought Gibson's was taking that little side structure north of the main tower. I seriously doubt the 52nd floor has a retractable roof.

Chicagoist clearly misread the Eater article.

Chicagoist doesn't fact check and on multiple occasions (that I've noticed) published stories where they clearly don't have the slightest inkling what they're writing about, so I think you're right.

[Izzi]

I'm pretty sure this is the Gibsons. They'll put a retractable roof on this.

[headcase]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

I thought Gibson's was taking that little side structure north of the main tower. I seriously doubt the 52nd floor has a retractable roof.

Chicagoist clearly misread the Eater article.

Yeah, much more likely, though much less fun...



SSDD

[harryc]

Jan 18

[10023]

Are they going to grade separate those Metra lines (or the roads) at some point? Those crossings look almost surreal in a developed part of a major city.

[Skyguy_7]

^If a few more towers sprang up around this area, you're right; it would feel like grade-level tracks cutting through LaSalle St. Very unusual but also unique.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by 10023

Are they going to grade separate those Metra lines (or the roads) at some point? Those crossings look almost surreal in a developed part of a major city.

No

[10023]

So strange. Obviously it would require modification to buildings in the area, but why not jack it all up a level like the Loop?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by 10023

So strange. Obviously it would require modification to buildings in the area, but why not jack it all up a level like the Loop?

because that would be impossible.

river point's new train "tunnel" and the nearby metra UP elevated lines that these tracks pass beneath preclude these particular grade level metra/amtrak tracks from ever being elevated.

check the area out on google here to see what i mean: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8915.../data=!3m1!1e3

the only option for grade seperation would be to build overpasses on canal and clinton going over the tracks.

that probably won't be happening any time soon for a variety of reasons.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by 10023

So strange. Obviously it would require modification to buildings in the area, but why not jack it all up a level like the Loop?

Elementary, my dear 10023... We live in an era where there is scant money for public infrastructure and public works.

So why not make private developers "jack up" their buildings at no cost to the taxpayers?

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

because that would be impossible.

river point's new train "tunnel" and the nearby metra UP elevated lines that these tracks pass beneath preclude these particular grade level metra/amtrak tracks from ever being elevated.

check the area out on google here to see what i mean: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8915.../data=!3m1!1e3

the only option for grade seperation would be to build overpasses on canal and clinton going over the tracks.

that probably won't be happening any time soon for a variety of reasons.

Another option is to lower Canal so that it actually runs under the train tracks. At this point it would probably be the only feasible option that doesn't cause visual obstructions. I think that would work better than an overpass, but what the hell im not a traffic engineer

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Another option is to lower Canal so that it actually runs under the train tracks. engineer

possibly, but with canal being so freaking close to the river right there, there might be water table complications with doing that, but what the hell i'm not a civil engineer.

[harryc]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Another option is to lower Canal so that it actually runs under the train tracks. At this point it would probably be the only feasible option that doesn't cause visual obstructions. I think that would work better than an overpass, but what the hell im not a traffic engineer

note the little drain just under t he METRA logo (2013)


That would be one very wet underpass.

[makes me shed a tear for the lost natural riverbank at Wolf point </sarcasm>]

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by 10023

So strange. Obviously it would require modification to buildings in the area, but why not jack it all up a level like the Loop?

Were you high when you formulated and posted that sentence?

[Izzi]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

possibly, but with canal being so freaking close to the river right there, there might be water table complications with doing that, but what the hell i'm not a civil engineer.

Forget the water table complications. It would never happen because the blue is under lake and canal before turning up Milwaukee.

[orulz]

I thought I recall reading that the plan was to just close Canal at the tracks and tunnel Clinton under them. Any traffic on Canal northbound to Kinzie would just divert to Clinton via Milwaukee.

Canal won't work because it's an oblique crossing, and skewed to the south between Fulton and Kinzie, so there wouldn't be enough room to meet grade between Fulton and the tracks, and the old CNW right-of-way leading to Kinzie Street railroad bridge is in the way as well between Kinzie and the tracks. So, close it off and use it for local access only. Yeah you lose a bit of connectivity, but connectivity is not all that great anyway; at rush hour, this is probably the worst "Akazu no Fumikiri" (Crossing that never opens) in all of Chicago, and a fourth lead track for Union Station would make it even worse. I think losing a bit of connectivity would be worth it in order to remove the potential safety issues due to the frequent trains, poor visibility, and oblique angles at this crossing, not to mention eliminating the opportunity for trespassers to wander into the tunnel leading to Union Station.

Clinton, on the other hand, is a right angle exactly halfway between Kinzie and Fulton, and there is no ground level railroad right-of-way in the way either. A grade separation couldn't go over the tracks, because of the lead tracks to Ogilvie Station which are above Clinton there, but going under the tracks is perfectly possible there, with reasonable grades and vertical curves that would even accommodate light rail, let alone buses and trucks. There is a minor problem of a couple alleyways for some condos on the west side of Clinton south of the tracks. This problem is supposedly it's solvable but I'm not sure the details. The idea that jumps out at me is to buy out Jefferson Tap & Grill and just connect the alleys to Jefferson instead of Clinton. There are no such constraints north of the tracks, and a big grassy area was even left between Clinton and and Alta K Station when it was built, which I suppose would allow the west side of Clinton north of the tracks to be excavated without any retaining walls. I'm not sure what utilities may need to be relocated, so I'm not saying it would be cheap or easy, but it's definitely possible.

As for the drainage problem, I'm not sure what the official plan is, but to me there seems to be a simple solution: just hook it up to the Deep Tunnel - that's what it's for, right? I believe it's located directly below the river so it's not far away.

I think the grade separation for Clinton and closure at Canal were actually prerequisites for the Carroll Avenue Transitway, since it would not be allowed to cross the Union Station lead tracks at grade. I believe it was also accounted for in the WLTC plan as well as the underground right-of-way for HSR left beneath K station.

[Reinsdorf Sucks]

I don't think those areas get enough traffic to justify messing with grade separations.

But another CREATE project would be cool.