Chicago neighbourhoods

Two cities of reels

Chicago's reels come from two very different places. The first is the industrial city: the Calumet Industrial Corridor on the Southeast Side, the largest of the city's industrial corridors by land area at about 4,197 acres, and the Clearing district by Midway. Plants there empty heavy 48 to 84-inch reels from feeder and maintenance work, and many arrive with material on reels in the first place.

The second is the residential city, where electricians rewire two-flats, courtyard buildings and bungalows, and the reels are small, few and stored in garages and basements. A city day mixes both: a plant gate in the morning, an alley in Rogers Park or Garfield Ridge in the afternoon.

Getting a truck in

City pickups are mostly about access. Plant gates have sign-in rules; alleys have garbage carts, low wires and parked cars; movable bridges over the Calumet open for boats. We ask for these details up front so the right vehicle comes: a semi for a plant, a straight truck for a city alley, sometimes a pickup with a trailer for a single spool.

Transit work adds a third source. The Red Line Extension south from 95th Street to 130th Street, about five and a half miles with four new stations, will run through the Far South Side for years, and its contractors handle traction power, signal and communications cable.

Who empties reels in the city

Every one of those sources also turns up broken reels: a split flange from a dropped load, staves crushed by a forklift. Those go to recycling in the same truck, so a yard or a basement is cleared in one visit instead of two.

If you are a property manager with reels in several buildings across the city, list them all. We sequence the stops by side of town and send one ticket per building.

Industries on the Chicago run

• Transit and rail constructionRed Line Extension contractors and CTA maintenance crews working south of 95th Street.
• Manufacturers and plantsCalumet and Clearing plants whose suppliers ship wire, rod and rope on spools.
• Electrical contractorsShops rewiring bungalows, two-flats and storefronts from Rogers Park to Pullman.
• Wire rope and riggingRiggers and crane outfits serving lakefront terminals and steel processors.

Questions about the Chicago run

Do you pick up inside Chicago city limits?

Yes. We run the Southeast Side, Hegewisch, the Far South Side, Clearing and Garfield Ridge, and Rogers Park, and take requests from other neighbourhoods on the way.

Can a truck use my alley?

Usually. Tell us about low wires, carts and parked cars, and we send a straight truck or smaller vehicle when a semi won't fit.

What if my neighbourhood isn't listed?

Send the ZIP anyway. Pages exist for the areas we run most, but a city request on the way to one of them is normal.

Do city pickups cost more than suburban ones?

Not as a rule. Price follows the reels: their size, build and condition, and how many there are. Tight alleys or long waits at a gate can change the vehicle we send, and we say so before booking.