The Chicago River's power was on display in the aftermath of flooding in 2013. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Patty Wetli

ALBANY PARK — Most Chicagoans greet the approach of spring with excitement. For residents of Albany Park and North Park who live along the Chicago River, the thought that April's showers are right around the corner brings nothing but dread.

Having experienced three "100-year" floods in the past 10 years, neighbors are nervous that a planned stormwater diversion tunnel has yet to break ground and won't be ready until 2018. As recently as June 2015, the river came within inches of overflowing its banks at Eugene Field Park.

That same park, at 5100 N. Ridgeway Ave., will play a key role in a plan to build a temporary wall to protect more than 300 homes from flood waters while the diversion tunnel is under construction.

Engineers from the Chicago Department of Transportation unveiled the short-term fix at a public meeting Monday night at Eugene Field. (View the complete presentation below.)

"We're working on permits. Our goal is to have this up before the rain comes," said Luis Benitez, assistant chief engineer and chief bridge engineer for the transportation department.

City engineer Vasile Jurca explained that the wall would snake through Eugene Field, courtesy of an agreement with the Chicago Park District, starting at the park's playground and following the river's contour to Monticello Avenue.

A temporary flood wall would protect homes while a stormwater diversion tunnel is under construction. [Chicago Department of Transportation]

Concrete "jersey" barriers and sand bags would be used as the wall's building blocks, Jurca said.

Some of this same equipment was placed in the neighborhood following disastrous flooding in 2013. That "ad hoc" plan has now been formalized and expanded, Jurca said.

Pending approval from private property owners, the wall could ultimately extend further east, Benitez said.

Openings would be left in the wall to allow access to Eugene Field, but if flooding threatens, those gaps would be stopped up with sand bags or barriers, which would be staged nearby.

In the past, the city has been heavily criticized by residents for mobilizing resources after the fact.

"We learn ... and we'll do better," Benitez said. "We're trying to do something additional until the [tunnel] project is completed."

Reaction from residents was mixed.

Some praised the wall, saying it made sense and the sooner it could be built, the better.

Others questioned whether the barriers and sand bags were the most effective solution available and expressed skepticism that the city would properly maintain deteriorating sand bags or the barriers, which were referred to as a "blank canvas" for graffiti.

Eugene Field supporters were concerned that the wall would make it appear as if the park were closed, deterring families and nature lovers from using the park while attracting unsavory activity.

The representatives from the city said it's part of their agreement with the Park District to make sure graffiti is removed and to keep the wall from damaging park land.

Eugene Field's wetlands were completely overwhelmed during flooding in 2013. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]

While the temporary wall was the focus of much of the discussion at Monday's meeting, transportation officials also provided an update on the diversion tunnel.

Bids came in higher than expected and the project was slightly delayed while additional funds were identified, Benitez said.

The contract should be awarded shortly and then depending on the permit process, work could begin by the end of April, he said.

Designed as a passive system, the tunnel will make use of gravity to divert stormwater from the river, bypassing Albany Park, and moving it downstream to an outlet shaft that will spit the water into the North Shore Channel.

Eighteen feet in diameter and a mile long, the tunnel will run 150 feet under Foster Avenue.

The most visible elements will be the tunnel's inlet and outlet shafts.

The inlet, where water will enter the tunnel, will be built on unimproved Park District land on the north side of Foster Avenue at approximately Springfield Avenue. The outlet shaft, which is where all construction on the tunnel will be staged, will be built in River Park, just east of the North Shore Channel and south of Foster Avenue.

Chicago River Diversion Tunnel and Flood Wall

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: