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  • Richard Powers Soaked Granta

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    Jia-Ching Chen
    135 tayangan3 halaman
    The Great Flood of 1992 in Chicago was caused by the collapse of an abandoned network of underground freight tunnels dating back over a century. Video evidence of a tunnel wall leaking months before was ignored by city officials. When the wall collapsed, over a quarter billion gallons of water from the Chicago River poured into the tunnels, flooding nearby buildings and shutting down infrastructure across downtown before the situation was under control. It took massive efforts over several days to drain the tunnels and resume normal operations, causing billions in damages and sparking legal battles over responsibility that lasted for years.

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    The Great Flood of 1992 in Chicago was caused by the collapse of an abandoned network of underground freight tunnels dating back over a century. Video evidence of a tunnel wall leaking months before was ignored by city officials. When the wall collapsed, over a quarter billion gallons of water from the Chicago River poured into the tunnels, flooding nearby buildings and shutting down infrastructure across downtown before the situation was under control. It took massive efforts over several days to drain the tunnels and resume normal operations, causing billions in damages and sparking legal battles over responsibility that lasted for years.

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    135 tayangan3 halaman

    Richard Powers Soaked Granta

    Diunggah oleh

    Jia-Ching Chen
    The Great Flood of 1992 in Chicago was caused by the collapse of an abandoned network of underground freight tunnels dating back over a century. Video evidence of a tunnel wall leaking months before was ignored by city officials. When the wall collapsed, over a quarter billion gallons of water from the Chicago River poured into the tunnels, flooding nearby buildings and shutting down infrastructure across downtown before the situation was under control. It took massive efforts over several days to drain the tunnels and resume normal operations, causing billions in damages and sparking legal battles over responsibility that lasted for years.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Unduh sebagai PDF, TXT atau baca online dari Scribd
    Tandai sebagai konten tidak pantas
    dari 3

    7/23/12

    1 | Soaked | Granta 108: Chicago | Archive | Granta Magazine

    108|ESSAYS|RICHARDPOWERS

    Soaked
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    oullhaveheardhowthecityonceendedinfire,andaroundtheseparts, itthreatenstoendiniceeveryfewyearsorso.Butonce,nottoolongago, Chicagoflirtedwithendinginwater,anentirelypreventablemanmade inundationthatfewsawbuteverybodyfeltatwobilliondollarsucker punchtsunamithatweighedinamongthedozenmostcostlyfloodsin Americanhistory. ThegroundworkfortheGreatFloodof1992waslaidacenturybefore,when theIllinois(laterChicago)TunnelCompanybuiltaseriesofsemiofficial, semiclandestinetunnelsunderalmosteverystreetdowntown.Thetunnels wereonlysupposedtohousetelephonecables,butinanicePynchoniantwist, theoperatorscovertlydecidedtoinstallanarrowgaugerailwayfordelivering freight,aswell.Thedirthauledoutofthetunnelsfilledinthelakefrontand formedallthelandnowunderGrantPark,theFieldMuseum,SoldierField andMcCormickPlace.Youdthinkthatamountoflandfilloughttohave tippedoffmorethanafewofficialsthatsomethingbesidesphonecableswas goinginunderground. Infactshowmeanothercitysocoarseandstrongandcunning!allthe phonecablescamerightoutagain,justhalfadozenyearslater,leavingthe severaldozenmilesofillegalundergroundrailroadsystemtohaulcoal,ashes andfreighttoandfrombuildingsalloverthedowntown.Whenthetunnel companyfinallywentbustafteranotherfortyyears,theyabandonedthe tunnels,whichfellintolimbo.Becausethepassagesviolatedallkindsof privatepropertylines,nobodyreallyownedthemandthecityneverassumed fullresponsibility.NowcuttoSeptember1991,whenanothersemiregulated privatecompanywasdrivingpilesintotheChicagoRiver(theriverthatthis city,inoneofhistorysalltimemindbogglingengineeringfeats,persuadedto runbackwards).Thedolphinpilingsweresupposedtokeepbargesandtourist

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    1 | Soaked | Granta 108: Chicago | Archive | Granta Magazine

    boatsfromsmackingintothefoundationsoftheKinzieStreetdrawbridge.But somebodyforgottoremindthepiledriversaboutthelongneglectedpassages honeycombingnotfarbelow,andamisgaugedpilingcompromisedthewalls ofatunneldirectlyundertheriver. NowcomesthedistinctiveChicagoantwist:cabletelevisionworkersdownin thetunnelsacoupleofmonthslateractuallysawthemleak,videotapedit oozingmudandwater,andsenttheurgentevidencetoCityHall.Thestaffof MayorDaleyHizzonertheSecondpromptlysetouttotakebidsfrom otherprivatecompanies,toseewhocouldpatchthingsupthemost cheaply.Threemonthslater,thetunnelwallsatlastcollapsed,andovernight therivercamepouringin. Theabandonedfreighttunnelsfilledquickly,soontakinginaboutaquarterof abilliongallons.Waterpassedeasilythrougholdconcretebarriersandsoon begantofillthecityssubwaysystemtunnelsaswell.Businessesthathad forgottenabouttheirillegalfreighttunnelhookupsahalfacentury earlierwereshockedtofindtheirfoundationsfillingwithuptofortyfeetof water.Thepowergridbegantoshortout,theBoardofTradeandMercantile Exchangesuspendedtradingwhenwatersbegantopercolateupthroughtheir basements,andtheentiredowntownandfinancialdistrictwereeventually shutdownandevacuated. Weirdly,atstreetlevel,therewasnotraceofthesubterraneandeluge.Only thisonceinalifetimething,waterflowingunderground Cityofficialsscrambledtofindthecause,nobodyquitepiecingtheflood togetherwiththevideoreportsfrommonthsbefore.Workcrewsbegan shuttingdownthecityslargestwatermains,tryingtostopthesurgingtide, butonlycompoundingthedisastrouslossofutilitiesandservices.Meanwhile, WMAQradiosnighttimecrimereporter,tippedofftothefactthatthe aquariumseemedtohaverelocatedtothebasementoftheMerchandise Mart,wentonairearlythatmorning,saying: IhavefoundsomethingveryinterestingintheChicagoRiveronthe eastsideoftheKinzieBridge.Iseeswirlingwaterthatlookslikea giantdrainIamhearingreportsthatfishareswimminginthe basementoftheMartjustfeetfromtheswirl!Idonotseeany emergencycrewsnearthisspinningswirl,butIthinktheymaywant totakealook.InfactIthinksomeoneshouldwakeuptheMayor! Thecityemergencyteamsshowedupattheswirlingbathtubdrainshortly thereafter.

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    1 | Soaked | Granta 108: Chicago | Archive | Granta Magazine

    Butittookthreedays,sealingoffandloweringtheChicagoRiverdumping sixtyfivetruckloadsofrock,cementandmattressesintothenowgapinghole andpunchingareleasesluicefromthefloodedclandestinetunnelsintothe ChicagoDeepTunnelsystematmassiveexpensebeforethedowntown drainedoutenoughforlifetoresume.Someskyscrapersstayedclosedfor weeks.Thefull,compoundedcostsofthedisasterareimpossibletocalculate, butthewranglingoverinsuranceandlegalresponsibility,needlesstosay, wentonforyears. AndthePynchoniansecretfreighttunnels?Theystayedpopularwellintothe twentyfirstcenturywiththereallifeDungeonsandDragonsurbanexplorer set,whousedthemtogospelunkingandbuildinghacking.Thenaterrorist threatfromaderangedmemberoftheChicagoUrbanExplorationclubledto thetunnelsfinalsealingafewyearsago.Butthesixtymilesoftwisting passagewaysarestilldownthere,awaitingtheiraccidentalrediscoveryby someunwittingprivatecompanyhalfacenturyfromnow.UntilthenMyKind ofTownstandsreadyagainforanyfreshelementaldisaster,forever bareheaded,shovelling,wrecking,planning,building,breaking,rebuilding Okay:maybealittlelightontheplanning.

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