CTA journeys are about to get tougher for commuters heading to the Illinois Medical District, students heading to UIC, and travelers connecting to Amtrak at Union Station.
CTA Blue Line tracks between the West Loop and the Illinois Medical District are scheduled to close temporarily this summer as work is underway to remove some of the slow-moving areas that plague the Forest Park branch of the line.
Clinton, UIC-Halsted and Racine stations will close in stages from late July to early October. During the closures, CTA will undertake a $268 million project to rebuild the track and upgrade the electrical system. The agency will also undertake the complete reconstruction of Racine station, which will continue in the years to come.
CTA will run shuttles during the closures and offer incentives to encourage riders to take alternative train routes. Nonetheless, the closures will mean longer journeys for Blue Line riders.
The effects could also be felt in the busy O’Hare branch of the Blue Line, said CTA spokesman Brian Steele. With part of the line out of service, wait times on the rest of the line could be “a few minutes” longer. But once the work is complete, fewer slow-moving areas along the Forest Park branch should also mean better service down the line, the CTA said.
Work is tentatively set to begin on July 23 and the closures will take place in two phases. For the first 30 days or so, trains will not run between LaSalle and the Illinois Medical District, and the three intermediate stations will be closed.
From late August until approximately October 7, the lane closure will be shortened between UIC-Halsted and the Illinois Medical District, and only Racine Station will remain closed.
The CTA will provide shuttles at all hours, every day, stopping at each closed station. During the first phase of the work, the shuttle will travel between the Illinois Medical District and Jackson, because, although the closure only extends to LaSalle, Jackson respects the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The agency encourages passengers to consider alternative service, such as the green and pink lines, during the closures. The agency will offer discounted fares on the lines, although the exact discount has yet to be determined, Steele said. Bus rides on routes between the pink and green lines will be free for passengers boarding in the construction zone.
During the first installment, when three stations are closed, CTA will also run an express shuttle during the morning and evening rush hours that will only stop at the Illinois Medical District and Jackson.
“We want to keep people on the CTA system during this work,” Steele said. “And even though some journeys – in fact, let’s go and say most journeys – through this area are going to take longer, the CTA will still be the most affordable, the most convenient and, given the traffic congestion we have seen in the area, it will still be competitive in terms of journey times.
The Forest Park branch of the Blue Line, which runs down the center of the Eisenhower Expressway, opened in 1958. It’s the only section of track that hasn’t undergone major upgrades since its construction, according to the. CTA.
About 80% of the 17.8-mile branch has slow areas, causing trains to crawl the median of the freeway and add time to riders’ journeys. Work between LaSalle and the Illinois Medical District will remove three miles of slow-moving areas.
Work on the eastern edge of the branch, funded by state money, CTA bonds and funding from a municipal tax funding district, is intended to be the first step in a complete reconstruction of the line. No funding or timetable has been identified for work on the remaining track sections, the CTA said.
Once the tracks reopen, parts of Racine Station will remain closed while the station is demolished and rebuilt. The reconstruction of the main part of the station is scheduled to take place until 2024, after which the main entrance will reopen and work will move to an auxiliary entrance.
Trains will continue to stop at Racine while the station is being built.
Steele said the Blue Line project is a major investment in Chicago’s West Side and an effort to strengthen and better connect communities.
“The Blue Line’s Forest Park branch is a vital transit asset for Chicago’s West Side communities, directly serving the Illinois Medical District, several schools and colleges, and several other growing employment centers,” CTA President Dorval Carter said in a statement. “The start of work on this project is long overdue, and CTA is committed to securing the additional funding to advance future phases of work to provide all Blue Line riders with a better transit experience.”
