Construction update Feb. 2022: getting ready for mass excavation

A wide shot of snow-covered ground and buildings in the background. The sun is shining in a blue sky.

February 18, 2022 Obama Foundation

Work to construct caissons to support the buildings and garage at the Obama Presidential Center is completed. Sheeting that will protect the subterranean levels of the Museum, Forum, and Library buildings is ahead of schedule.

Earth retention work remains on track as the site is readied for dewatering and mass excavation that is scheduled to begin in March.

Workers in neon yellow vests and hard hats are in a dirt ditch. A yellow excavator is on the right.
A snowy, muddy construction site with the rectangular outline of metal and red pipe.

February 18, 2022 Chicago Department of Transportation

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) is starting construction on long planned transportation improvements in and around Jackson Park coordinated with the Obama Presidential Center and supportive of the Chicago Park District’s South Lakefront Framework Plan.

Starting next week, weather permitting, motorists can expect daily off-peak lane closures for site preparation work on Stony Island Avenue, Hayes Drive, and South DuSable Lake Shore Drive. This will continue through mid-March.

Starting in mid-March, reconstruction work will start on Hayes Drive between Cornell Drive and Richards Drive. The public can expect parking restrictions, lane shifts, and detours of pedestrian paths.

Drivers are urged to pay close attention to flaggers and construction signage when entering and driving through work zones, to please obey the posted speed limits, and to be on the alert for workers and equipment as well as pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists.

February 7, 2022 Obama Foundation

Progress on constructing the Obama Presidential Center continues with relatively few inclement weather delays. By the end of the week, all of the caissons will be drilled. Installation of sheeting all around the Museum, Forum, Library, and Garage structures is almost 50 percent complete. Work has begun to stabilize that sheeting and dewater the area within the sheeting, and the site is being readied for mass excavation which will become the foundation for the Museum, Forum, Library, and Garage structures. In March, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) is slated to begin a major investment to modernize and expand several roadways in and around Jackson Park, including areas surrounding the Center.

A wide shot of snow-covered ground and buildings in the background. The sun is shining in a blue sky.
A red-and-white striped cement mixer backed up to a large circular drum-shaped object. A man wearing a neon-yellow safety vest stands beside it. Another large piece of construction equipment is on the left side.

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