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Stretch Of CTA Green Line Slated For Track Improvement In Spring

(CBS) -- The next stop on the CTA's track improvement program is the Green Line -- in Austin and Oak Park.

It's been close to 30 years since the Green Line between Laramie and Harlem had major track reconstruction, and the CTA's Tammy Chase said the transit agency will spend $13 million to remove slow zones and make repairs to the 2.5-mile stretch of track, which carried nearly 9 million riders last year alone.

"There will be a small number of weekend-only line cuts, what we call temperature suspensions of the use of the tracks," she said. "We will have shuttle buses in place. We will make sure to give customers advance notice."

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Weekday riders should not notice any problems, she said.

Stations are not included in this round of repair. Chase said that the work will begin in early spring and should be complete by next November.

CTA rehabilitated the Green Line South in 2012 and 2013, ahead of full reconstruction of the paralleling Red Line. It also has opened new stations at Cermak and Morgan since 2012.

Similar track reconstruction programs were undertaken this year on the Brown Line's so-called "Ravenswood Connector" between Armitage and the Merchandise Mart, and on the tracks used by Purple Line Express trains between Lawrence and Howard.

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