Apr 13, 2007 7:19 pm US/Central
Chicago Marks 15 Years Since Disastrous Loop Flood
by Antonio Mora
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
What were you doing 15 years ago Friday? If you were anywhere in Chicago's Loop, you were dealing with one huge mess – the Great Chicago Loop Flood.
It was the story everyone was talking about on April 13, 1992. The first sign of what was to come was a deceptively quiet whirlpool in the Chicago River at Kinzie, first noticed around 7 a.m.
Underneath, 250 million of gallons of water were gushing through a hole in a network of tunnels beneath the Loop. The hole was the size of a car.
After the water filled the tunnels, it began rushing into streets and building basements.
As the morning progressed, the city came to a standstill. Major stores closed, including Marshall Field's, where the basement and sub-basement were under dozens of feet of water.
Loop restaurants had plenty of time to throw away food that was spoiling; they had no customers.
And confused commuters were caught in the mess as subways shut down.
Even the Chicago Board of Trade looked like a ghost town.
While businesses and commuters fretted, Mayor Richard M. Daley and construction experts tried to figure what in the world to do.
As crews patched one crack, another would appear. Mud started leaking into the tunnels. For 10 hours, they kept at it.
Finally the solution: trucks dumped gravel and sandbags covered with quick drying cement into the river.
The leak was plugged, but the major pump-out and clean-up were just beginning.
CBS 2's Pam Zekman broke the story of what caused the leak.
Back in 1991, wooden pilings had been put in the riverbed to protect the Kinzie Street Bridge, but they were placed in the wrong location and over time, punctured the tunnel's ceiling.
LATER TODAY: Look for a comprehensive story on the 1992 Loop Flood in the CBS 2 Vault.
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