The City of Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) is responsible for maintaining and upgrading the City’s infrastructure, including streets, alleys, sidewalks, bridges, viaducts and waterways. This project featured the expansion of the Riverwalk, which is a public walkway along the banks of the Chicago River. Design elements included bicycle and pedestrian facilities, ADA-compliant access, public seating, sustainable native plant landscaping and recreational spaces. Landscaping replaced an industrial seawall and provided habitat protection and restoration for the Chicago River.

As a subcontractor to Benesch, Cotter Consulting provided construction engineering and inspection services for this project. Cotter’s services included:

• On-site project management
• On-site administration support
• On-site assistance/guidance to field offices
• On-site construction QA inspecting/reporting
• On-site review of contract documents and submittals
• On-site review of NAS schedules/QC plans
• On-site review of shop drawings/submittals
• Daily on-site evaluation of construction materials and methods
• On-site interpretation of jobsite safety
• On-site evaluation of construction progress
• Investigating/reporting of contractor claims