Wacker Drive
Shot from: The IRV Kupcinet Bridge
Project: Taking Measures Across Chicago
Application: Photoshop / QuarkXPress / Acrobat
A roadway with an upper and lower level? The whim of a dreamer. That was what many thought of Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett, the architect responsible for presenting an intriguing and visionary plan to the Commercial Club of Chicago in 1909. Wacker Drive, the cornerstone of his innovative plan, was a radical departure - both in purpose and construction - from any work previously undertaken in any city. But Charles H. Wacker, chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission, embraced the vision of Burnham's plan and worked to ensure the realization of the dream. Upon completion of the roadway in 1926, Wacker Drive was named in honor of its biggest supporter.
A street running in all directions (north, south, east and west), Wacker Drive was designed to be a distributive artery for seven major north/south streets and nine east/west streets. On the lower level, it provided a highway for heavy traffic without the interruption of intersecting streets. Wacker Drive combined both advanced architectural and engineering design, to not only beautify the waterfront but also offer a two-level thoroughfare to facilitate traffic flow.
A few facts on the history of Wacker Drive include the following breakthroughs and achievements:
Breakthrough Ingenuity
According to estimates made by the Chicago City Council in 1922, Wacker Drive was expected to cost more than $8.5 million. The actual cost of Wacker Drive was $500,000 less than estimated, notwithstanding scores of revisions made necessary by physical conditions encountered in the execution of the work.
In the early 1920s, construction work of this magnitude was normally abandoned in the winter, but the engineers working on the project devised a method of enclosing the work with tarpaulins, heating it with fire contained in barrels, and then pouring the concrete. With the outside temperature below zero, inside, concrete was poured into forms at a temperature of 100 degrees F. A protective covering of marsh hay was packed around the concrete forms and thermometers were read daily by inspectors. After as many as seven days, the thermometers still registered as high as 70 degrees F., regardless of the outside temperature.
New work records were set. On August 10, 1925, 1,080 cubic yards of structural concrete were poured in one-half block of slab during one day. The workers started at 6 a.m. and did not stop until 1:30 a.m. the next morning, setting a world record. Twelve days later they broke their own record when the same quantity of concrete was poured, under the same conditions, in an hour's less time.
Mid-Continent Construction Company, which was responsible for more than 70 percent of the job, finished without any labor trouble or a single serious accident.
Architectural Achievements
The construction of Wacker Drive was an example of the finest reinforced concrete work that had ever been erected up at the time.
The columns supporting the drive were a notable innovation. The octagonal design, resembling Atlas supporting upper Wacker Drive, provided both architectural beauty and enormous strength.
Lower Wacker Drive was one of the first streets to allow intermodal freight transfer, serving as a dock for boats that would unload cargo to waiting trucks.
An ingenious lighting method was used on the lower level by concealing the fixtures in the top of the columns. The electric illumination was designed so that the radius of illumination from each lamp is calculated to overlap the illumination of the next lamp, so that there are no "black spots" in the lighting of the drive.
Facts
Some interesting facts and figures about Wacker Drive:
It is approximately two miles long -
1.2 miles run east/west
0.8 miles run north/south
The original structure contains -
more than 1,000,000 steel rods
(equal to 7,500 tons of reinforced steel)
30,000,000 feet of lumber
250,000 square feet of sidewalk
15,000 linear feet of curbing
Wacker Drive intersects with 20 streets in the Loop
Sixty percent of Wacker Drive runs alongside the Chicago River
Currently, 12 ramps connect upper and lower Wacker Drive
There are 19 movable bridges connected to Wacker Drive
Over 180,000 vehicles use both upper and lower Wacker Drive daily
Lower Wacker Drive provides access for service vehicles to 57 high-rise buildings
Over a 1,000 boat tours depart from lower Wacker Drive throughout the spring, summer and fall
Wacker Drive
Shot from: The IRV Kupcinet Bridge
Project: Taking Measures Across Chicago
Application: Photoshop / QuarkXPress / Acrobat
A roadway with an upper and lower level? The whim of a dreamer. That was what many thought of Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett, the architect responsible for presenting an intriguing and visionary plan to the Commercial Club of Chicago in 1909. Wacker Drive, the cornerstone of his innovative plan, was a radical departure - both in purpose and construction - from any work previously undertaken in any city. But Charles H. Wacker, chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission, embraced the vision of Burnham's plan and worked to ensure the realization of the dream. Upon completion of the roadway in 1926, Wacker Drive was named in honor of its biggest supporter.
A street running in all directions (north, south, east and west), Wacker Drive was designed to be a distributive artery for seven major north/south streets and nine east/west streets. On the lower level, it provided a highway for heavy traffic without the interruption of intersecting streets. Wacker Drive combined both advanced architectural and engineering design, to not only beautify the waterfront but also offer a two-level thoroughfare to facilitate traffic flow.
A few facts on the history of Wacker Drive include the following breakthroughs and achievements:
Breakthrough Ingenuity
According to estimates made by the Chicago City Council in 1922, Wacker Drive was expected to cost more than $8.5 million. The actual cost of Wacker Drive was $500,000 less than estimated, notwithstanding scores of revisions made necessary by physical conditions encountered in the execution of the work.
In the early 1920s, construction work of this magnitude was normally abandoned in the winter, but the engineers working on the project devised a method of enclosing the work with tarpaulins, heating it with fire contained in barrels, and then pouring the concrete. With the outside temperature below zero, inside, concrete was poured into forms at a temperature of 100 degrees F. A protective covering of marsh hay was packed around the concrete forms and thermometers were read daily by inspectors. After as many as seven days, the thermometers still registered as high as 70 degrees F., regardless of the outside temperature.
New work records were set. On August 10, 1925, 1,080 cubic yards of structural concrete were poured in one-half block of slab during one day. The workers started at 6 a.m. and did not stop until 1:30 a.m. the next morning, setting a world record. Twelve days later they broke their own record when the same quantity of concrete was poured, under the same conditions, in an hour's less time.
Mid-Continent Construction Company, which was responsible for more than 70 percent of the job, finished without any labor trouble or a single serious accident.
Architectural Achievements
The construction of Wacker Drive was an example of the finest reinforced concrete work that had ever been erected up at the time.
The columns supporting the drive were a notable innovation. The octagonal design, resembling Atlas supporting upper Wacker Drive, provided both architectural beauty and enormous strength.
Lower Wacker Drive was one of the first streets to allow intermodal freight transfer, serving as a dock for boats that would unload cargo to waiting trucks.
An ingenious lighting method was used on the lower level by concealing the fixtures in the top of the columns. The electric illumination was designed so that the radius of illumination from each lamp is calculated to overlap the illumination of the next lamp, so that there are no "black spots" in the lighting of the drive.
Facts
Some interesting facts and figures about Wacker Drive:
It is approximately two miles long -
1.2 miles run east/west
0.8 miles run north/south
The original structure contains -
more than 1,000,000 steel rods
(equal to 7,500 tons of reinforced steel)
30,000,000 feet of lumber
250,000 square feet of sidewalk
15,000 linear feet of curbing
Wacker Drive intersects with 20 streets in the Loop
Sixty percent of Wacker Drive runs alongside the Chicago River
Currently, 12 ramps connect upper and lower Wacker Drive
There are 19 movable bridges connected to Wacker Drive
Over 180,000 vehicles use both upper and lower Wacker Drive daily
Lower Wacker Drive provides access for service vehicles to 57 high-rise buildings
Over a 1,000 boat tours depart from lower Wacker Drive throughout the spring, summer and fall