Riverwalk Restaurants Expected To Reopen After Flooding
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Restaurants along the Chicago Riverwalk were expected to reopen Tuesday morning, after the Riverwalk flooded over the weekend.
City crews spent much of the day on Monday power-washing the Riverwalk, after it was coated in sediment due to flooding from record-setting rainfall on Saturday.
Cafes and restaurants along the Riverwalk were expected to begin reopening Tuesday morning.
The Riverwalk was designed with durable materials to quickly bounce back from occasional flooding.
"The Riverwalk functioned as intended during the flood event ensuring a quick and easy clean up so visitors can get back to enjoying all the Riverwalk has to offer," the city said in a news release on Monday.
Friends of the Chicago River executive director Margaret Frisbie said the walkways and jetties along the Riverwalk were designed to float up and down, and the landscaping and other features that don't float were designed to withstand flooding when rain is as heavy as it was over the weekend.
"Everyone understands that's going to happen," she said. "It's designed for it, so it can drain off, it can be cleaned up, and we can all be out there before a couple of days passes."
According to the National Weather Service, 4.19 inches of rain fell at O'Hare International Airport on Saturday, the most rain in a single October Day since Oct. 3, 1954. It was also the wettest day in any month in Chicago since July 23, 2011, when Chicago had 6.68 inches of rain.
Between Saturday and Sunday, 4.39 inches of rain were recorded at O'Hare, the fourth-highest two-day total ever recorded in October, according to the National Weather Service.