East Pathway of Northerly Island Closed Due to Erosion

Corrosion of Northerly Island east pathway (via Chicago Tribune)

Well this is a bummer (via Chicago Tribune):

Just eight months after Northerly Island Park opened, the foundation beneath a path on the east side of the park is crumbling.  

The Chicago Park District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday that surging waves off Lake Michigan have caused erosion under the eastern path, between a man-made lagoon and the lake, washing away the rock and soil that support the walkway popular with joggers and bird-watchers.

About 200 feet of the path has been closed and granite boulders line the edge that separates it from the lake.  Officials said a plan to rebuild the path is close to being finalized, and reconstruction should not take long.  

"People can still run, bike or walk the park … they just can't do a full circle," said Zvez Kubat, a spokeswoman for the park district.

As a reminder, the renovated park opened up in the fall of 2015.

Below is a great shot of the park when it opened.  Although the path is intact right in the pic, you can imagine the beating it probably took from the open waves of Lake Michigan:

Pic of Northerly Island from fall of 2015 (via Chicago Tribune)

The good news is that they think it won't take long to fix.