Year 2, Day 345: 9 October 2014: The End

It's hard to believe, but the substation project is finally complete, just twenty days short of the two-year mark. The grand finale was remarkably anticlimactic: I thought there would be a ribbon-cutting, or fireworks, or something, but no, the substation went on line without fanfare, sometime within the past few weeks. The last task was the completion of some simple landscaping. A layer of soil and mulch was added on top of the gravel bed, and then some low-growing ground cover was added today.  Finally, all the remaining equipment was removed from the site, with the exception of the work trailer--now empty--which i assume will be removed within the next day or so. 

When this project was first announced, i dreaded the thought of spending a couple of years living in the shadow of a loud, dirty, disruptive construction site. But then i reminded myself how much i've always enjoyed watching construction and demolition projects, and i realized what a unique opportunity this was to have a bird's-eye view of such a unique process. Once i made that mental shift, the whole thing became an adventure and a learning experience.  

This will, i imagine, be my last post on this blog. It's been a long and interesting journey. I've learned a lot from observing the building of the substation, but even more from the generosity of the crew, who seemed always ready to give me a few minutes of their time to explain some aspect of the job or email me to clear up anything that i was uncertain about. I'm especially grateful to the CTA for allowing me to go where no civilian has gone before--inside the sanctum sanctorum, the nearly finished substation--on the first of May. 

My other blogs--Ms. Demeanor's Photo du Jour, Dogs of Rogers Park, and Tattered Film Palace--are still more or less active, and i hope you'll drop by to visit me there. I suspect that at some point in the future i will go into withdrawal and feel the need to start up another construction-related blog, but for now at least, i'm taking off my hardhat and saying toodle-oo.  

The landscapers

Loading up the last few pieces of equipment 

One final picture of the last few guys on the job 

The top of the wall complete with a little greenery.

At the end of the day, all that remains of the work site is the empty trailer.