Rehab project ready to begin on Naperville Riverwalk

Construction fences are in place this week as crews prepare for a $1.44 million rehabilitation project along the original two-block span of Naperville's Riverwalk.

The work represents the first phase of a three-pronged project focused on the portion of the park bordered by Main Street on the east and Eagle Street on the west.

"The whole purpose is to provide enhancements and improvements so the Riverwalk will be in good shape for generations to come," Riverwalk Administrator Jan Erickson said Tuesday.

Much of the initial work will center on replacing the bulkhead wall that supports the lower walkway. A recent engineering study found that the wall, built in the 1930s, is showing signs of age and wear, Erickson said.

The rest of the project, scheduled for completion in June, includes:

• widening the lower walkway to five feet and adding a handicap-accessible ramp;

• redesigning and enhancing the Veteran's Plaza;

• improving pedestrian areas north of the Dandelion Fountain;

• improving the stairway east of the Webster Street bridge;

• combining two narrow walkways into one Grand Promenade anchored by the Dandelion Fountain on the west and the Veteran's Plaza on the east;

• and widening and replacing the concrete sidewalk along Jackson Avenue with brick pavers.

Erickson said the city is paying for the project through its capital improvement program budget. Copenhaver Construction of Gilberts will do the work.

Officials initially hoped to tackle it last fall as part of the Riverwalk's 25th anniversary celebration, but the permitting process slowed progress.

The Riverwalk Commission finally was able to seek bids in December and awarded the contract last month.

The work on the bulkhead will be especially tricky, Erickson said, because crews must install a coffer dam to keep the DuPage River away while crews rebuild the wall.

That one-block portion of the Riverwalk will be blocked to pedestrians during the first part of the reconstruction, although the Jackson Avenue sidewalk will remain open until about mid-April. At that point, pedestrian traffic will be rerouted to the north side of the street.

For safety reasons, the Webster Street covered bridge and the 25-space Riverwalk parking lot at the southwest corner of Jackson Avenue and Main Street will be closed for the duration of the project.

Erickson said crews hope to have the construction work completed by late June in time for summer activities at the park.

"We'd like to get all the other work done before summer hits," she said.

Once this segment of the project is complete, officials will turn their attention to further improvements aimed for the west end of the two-block stretch.

Officials still must finalize a design plan, but hope to begin construction in fall.

Leaders, meanwhile, are scheduled to hold a brief groundbreaking ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday near the sculpture of Riverwalk patriarchs Jim Moser and Chet Rybicki. Mayor George Pradel is expected to attend as are Riverwalk Commission Chairman Rick Hitchcock and Riverwalk Foundation President Jeff Havel.