Politics & Government

Big Blast Expected at Thornton Quarry Monday

Final explosion will prepare 7.9-billion-gallon reservoir for Southland's flood control efforts.

Get ready for a blast — a huge explosion Monday at the Thornton Quarry will mark the final blast in preparing the reservoir for become a "huge bathtub" capable of holding 7.9 billion gallons of floodwater.

That's right — 7.9 billion gallons.

The reservoir would be filled by the a 30-foot-wide tube that connects to the Deep Tunnel project, 100 miles of concrete-lined tunnels buried far beneath the south suburbs and the South Side of Chicago. In 2015, when the final piece of earth is removed from tunnel, floodwaters will be able to flow into the reservoir. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation Project began in the 1970s and when finished it will alleviate many of the flooding issues on the South Side and in the south suburbs.

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Patch's friends at ABC 7 News sent Paul Meincke 300 feet below the surface for a look at the project from the floor of the Thornton Quarry in this video report.

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