Some Of Navy Pier's Big, New Ferris Wheel Will Arrive Next Week

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jan 12, 2016 6:43PM

The iconic Navy Pier Ferris wheel won't be missing from Chicago's skyline for much longer.

A crucial next step in the process of replacing the old Ferris wheel, removed last year, with a bigger, grander new one is about to get underway as Navy Pier shuts down for two days next week for pieces of the new wheel to be delivered.

Navy Pier will be closed Jan. 19 and 20 to make way for "key structural elements of the wheel's frame," which are arriving by boat, truck and train from Europe, according to a news release.

Navy Pier will be closed to the public, but hang around Streeterville next Tuesday and you may be able to see four large cranes lifting the six legs of the Ferris wheel, which are each 120 feet long and weigh 36,376 lbs., as well as the 104-foot center hub of the Ferris wheel, which in turn weighs about 36,000 lbs as it is secured to the legs.

The 196-foot Ferris wheel is slated to be up and running by the summer, in time for Navy Pier's 2016 Centennial Celebration.