MWRD Outfall Sewers and Digging a Trench With a Dragline

Park Ridge Outfall

MWRD posted on May 21, 2023
Construction of the Park Ridge Out Fall Sewer along Howard Street, looking west toward the Des Plaines River on April 30, 1928.

Dennis DeBruler commented on the MWRD post
Digging a trench with a dragline caught my eye. Cable driven backhoes probably existed in 1928, but they were not big enough to move that much dirt.
I checked, the O'Brien WRP was completed in 1928 so I presume tht this was the outfall for that plant. I had assumed that the outfall for that plant was into the North Shore Channel.

I wonder if this was the same dragline. We can see that it was a walking dragline.

MWRD posted
emoval of excavated rock and material along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Pulaski Road during an electrical conduit tunneling project on May 28, 1923.

MWRD posted
Construction of the Park Ridge Outfall Sewer along Howard Street on April 30, 1928.

When I Googled "park ridge outfall project," I discovered that Park Ridge plans to spend millions of dollars to build storm sewers and underground retention vaults to reduce flooding. [Dec 2017 plan]

Elmwood Park Outfall

MWRD posted
A steam shovel near the intersection of Thatcher and North Avenues in Elmwood Park, Illinois, during construction of the 10,000-foot-long Elmwood Park Outfall Sewer on June 20, 1924. The sewer was completed in 1925 to serve parts of Chicago, Elmwood Park, Oak Park and River Forest.

MWRD posted
A steam shovel and truck near the intersection of Thatcher and North Avenues in Elmwood Park during construction of the 10,000-foot-long Elmwood Park Outfall Sewer on June 20, 1924. The sewer was completed in 1925 to serve parts of Chicago, Elmwood Park, Oak Park and River Forest.

MWRD posted
A trench machine and workers near the intersection of Thatcher and North Avenues in Elmwood Park during construction of the 10,000-foot-long Elmwood Park Outfall Sewer on July 8, 1924. The sewer was completed in 1925 at a cost of $446,700 to serve parts of Chicago, Elmwood Park, Oak Park and River Forest.

MWRD posted
 View looking east from the west side of the North Avenue bridge towards Thatcher Avenue in River Forest showing equipment for a cofferdam and start of excavation of the area for a sewer and pumping station outfall on July 8, 1924.