CTA Finishes Upgrades To 5 Blue Line Stops; OKs Funds For Red Line Expansion
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The CTA has completed major upgrades to several stops on the Blue Line, as the agency presses ahead with a long-awaited expansion of the Red Line.
The Addison, Irving Park, Montrose, Harlem, and Cumberland stations on the Blue Line all received significant makeovers; including improved platforms and canopies, repaired benches and windbreakers, new lighting and security cameras, and deep cleaning. The Addison station also got a new stairway and elevator.
The upgrades were part of the $492 million Your New Blue project, the largest investment in the O'Hare branch since the Blue Line was extended to O'Hare International Airport in 1986.
When completed in 2018, the project is expected to reduce travel times between downtown and O'Hare by up to 10 minutes.
Meantime, the CTA has announced it is pushing forward with plans to extend the Red Line south to 130th Street.
The CTA has approved $75 million in funding for preliminary engineering on the project, as well as a finalized environmental assessment. The money, to be funded by CTA bonds, would allow the CTA to apply for more than $1 billion in federal funding for the $2.3 billion project.
The Red Line expansion would add four new stations at 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street.
If all goes as planned, construction would begin in 2022, and be completed by 2026.
