Emergency personnel closed downtown Evanston streets Monday morning after strong winds knocked debris loose from the Sherman Plaza construction site, injuring one construction worker.
Falling materials struck the worker on the head shortly after 9 a.m., while he was on the site’s 26th floor, Deputy Chief Joseph Bellino of the Evanston Police Department said. The worker was transported to Evanston Hospital and received stitches for minor head wounds.
The falling debris also damaged one vehicle, Bellino said. No pedestrians were injured.
Police, fire and city emergency personnel began closing the Clark, Benson, Davis and Sherman Streets after responding to the Sherman Plaza accident, Bellino said. No pedestrian or vehicle traffic is allowed in the downtown area and the Sherman Plaza site was cleared.
“One of the problems,” said Evanston Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky in a press release, “is that the winds are so dangerous and high that construction workers cannot even get to the top of the project to secure materials.”
Materials that had been secured were not holding through the strong winds, Berkowsky said.
Wind speeds were about 26 mph with gusts up to 37 mph at about the time EPD received a phone call about the Sherman accident, according to the National Weather Service. Speeds later reached about 30 mph with gusts of about 45 mph.
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory at about 9:20 a.m., ten minutes after the Sherman accident was reported. The advisory is in effect until midnight Monday and said to expect winds between of about 30 mph with gusts of about 45 mph until late evening.
The streets will remain closed until workers are able to secure the materials at the Sherman site, Bellino said. Stores in the closed-off area were allowed to remain open Monday afternoon but customers were unable to reach many stores due to restricted pedestrian traffic.
The Sherman Plaza area was blocked off four months earlier on Nov. 12, when strong winds blew two-by-fours and other debris off the site and injured one person. Sherman Avenue was closed between Church Street and Davis Street through the following day.
The Chicago Transit Authority Davis Street stop was also closed due to dangers from the strong winds. Purple Line trains were not stopping at the station and three CTA buses were rerouted, CTA spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said. Announcements over the trains and buses alerted passengers they would need to exit at the Foster or Dempster stops instead the Davis Street station.
Buses are available near the Davis Street stop for passengers who would usually enter there to ride to the Foster or Dempster Street stops, Ziegler said. CTA personnel were also available near the stops to direct passengers.
Sherman Plaza developer Jim Klutznick did not return a voicemail message left at his office Monday afternoon. A secretary at Focus Development, one of the plaza’s developers, said the company declined to comment.
Reach Laura Olson at [email protected].
