Promontory Point limestone steps on Chicago lakefront just need repair, not replacement. Evelyn Holmes. ABC 7 Eyewitness News, April 4, 2024
https://abc7chicago.com/promontory-point-chicago-limestone-steps-lakefront-lake-michigan/14618533/ Promontory Point limestone seawall can be saved, study says. Ezra Maille. SunTimes, April 4, 2024. Desmon Yancy Reads CDOT statement on Promontory Point. PBS, Chicago Tonight, April 4, 2024. Preservationist-backed study finds Promontory Point rock wall is good for another 100 years as efforts continue to fight off demolition. Patty Wetli. WTTW, April 4, 2024. Promontory Point's limestone is still protecting the lakefront and can be preserved, advocate's study finds. Maxwell Evans. Block Club Chicago, April 8, 2024. Preservationists fight to save last stretch of lakefront limestone. Rachel Pierson. WBBM NewsRadio, April 8, 2024. Promontory Point limestone steps on Chicago lakedfront just need repair, not replacement. Great Lakes Commission. April 5, 2024. https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20240405-promontorypoint-chicago-lakefront Excerpted from New City: Promontory Point Limestone Seawall Could Be Saved "A new study finds that “the historical limestone revetment, or seawall, at Promontory Point ‘is structurally sound,’ but officials have said for years the structure has been failing and should be replaced,” reports the Sun-Times. “The findings of the survey… commissioned by the Promontory Point Conservancy, contradict the position of the Chicago division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Chicago Park District and Chicago Department of Transportation, which have said the limestone blocks facing the lake have failed and need to be replaced. (The fifty-page survey is here.)" New study finds Promontory Point's limestone is salvageable with repairs and maintenance. Marc Monaghan and Hannah Faris. Hyde Park Herald, April 4, 2024.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 4, 2024 Today Promontory Point Conservancy and McLaren Engineering Group release the results of a condition study of Chicago’s Promontory Point, concluding unequivocally that the iconic limestone block revetment currently in place along the Point’s shoreline is structurally sound, provide critical shoreline protection for the inland park and south lakefront, and may be easily rehabilitated. The full results of the study will be announced at The Promontory, 5311 South Lake Park Avenue West, 10 A.M. CDT, with comments from 5th Ward Alderman Desmon Yancy, State Senator Robert Peters (D-13), and Cook County Commissioner Bill Lowry (D-3). Please find the full text of the study here. For 24 years, the Chicago Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Chicago Park District, and the Chicago Department of Transportation have claimed that the Point’s historic limestone revetment has failed, and must be replaced with a continuous concrete embankment. They have expressed their intentions to close the Point to the public for three to five years to complete this work. McLaren’s study demonstrates that this conclusion is incorrect, and that repairing and maintaining the current limestone structure is both feasible and more cost-efficient than the demolition and replacement plans obtained from the City and the Chicago Corps. It has been documented that the Point’s limestone provides equal or better shoreline protection than the proposed concrete replacement. McLaren also concurs with projections of another century of service life, with proper maintenance. The study determined that accessibility modifications may be easily made to the existing structure. As a result, it also concluded that the cost of removing the limestone for a new concrete structure will be dramatically higher than simple preservation and repair. McLaren is an industry leader in the analysis of waterfront structures, with nearly 50 years of experience in civil engineering design and assessment. The study was conducted by a team of engineer-divers responsible for every step of the analyzing process. For more statistics and conclusions, please refer to the attached fact sheet and full report text. The Conservancy and McLaren will release an Alternative Design Study containing proposals and strategies for such an approach later this summer. These proposals will fulfill storm damage and shoreline protection as well as legal preservation criteria. The Conservancy invites CDOT, the Park District, and the Chicago Corps to collaborate with us, our elected officials, and the community in developing a solution beneficial to everybody’s interests. To preserve the limestone is to preserve the community that has gathered at the Point for decades. It is an investment to ensure that future Chicagoans may enjoy this park with the same fullness we do now. ### For written inquiries please contact Malachi Hayes at ([email protected]) Constructed in the late 1930s, Promontory Point’s limestone block revetment and promenade have been an iconic feature of the South Side park’s lakefront, and a highly-valued community gathering spot for 85 years. Documents and plans obtained from the Chicago Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Chicago Department of Transportation indicate the City intends to remove the Point’s limestone blocks and replace them with a concrete embankment. The basis for this is a condition study, which they will not release to the public, indicating that the limestone revetment and promenade have structurally failed. As a result, Promontory Point Conservancy commissioned an independent condition study from McLaren Engineering Group, an industry-leading coastal engineering firm with extensive expertise in assessing waterfront structures. The conclusive findings of McLaren’s condition study includes the following:
✓ The limestone blocks provide satisfactory shoreline protection against storm damage and aggressive wave action. ✓ McLaren concurs with engineer Cyril Galvin’s conclusion in a 2002 study that the Point’s limestone blocks have not failed. ✓ Fewer than 25% of blocks require replacement because virtually all of the Point’s limestone blocks remain functional and fully or nearly intact. ✓ The scattering and settling of the limestone blocks in the promenade is caused by the erosion of the underlying (“subgrade”) gravel and rock fill material stabilizing the blocks. ✓ This subgrade material is replaceable, and it is a practical solution to simply re-position settled blocks and, with proper drainage and maintenance, prevent further disruption of the promenade. ✓ Re-setting the displaced blocks will provide as effective, if not more, protection against wave and storm damage than a concrete-based replacement. ✓ Repairing the current limestone structure offers practical opportunities for increasing pedestrian access and ease of use for disabled community members. ✓ The plans obtained from CDOT and the Chicago Corps necessitate the removal of nearly all limestone blocks currently present at the Point, which alone will incur an astronomical cost far greater than repairing and maintaining the current limestone structure. ✓ Retaining and preserving the limestone structure currently in place adheres to legal guidelines for preservation. ✓ The concrete replacement plans obtained from the CDOT and the Chicago Corps would likely not be in compliance with legal preservation guidelines. ✓ In the coming months, McLaren will produce an Alternative Design Study Report that will include design options and cost estimates for retaining, repairing, rehabilitating and maintaining the Point’s iconic limestone. ### |
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AuthorDebra Hammond is currently an officer of Promontory Point Conservancy. She has always been tall for her age |