CTA officials dedicate new Wellington Brown Line Station

Written by jrood

Chicago Transit Authority officials August 14 dedicated the new Wellington station on the Brown Line. The station reopened to customers July 30 after a 16-month temporary closure for construction as part of the line's capacity expansion project.  

Wellington is the sixteenth
of 18 stations included in the Brown Line capacity expansion project to be
completed. To date, work also has been completed at Kimball, Kedzie, Rockwell,
Francisco, Western, Sedgwick, Montrose, Addison, Southport, Armitage, Diversey,
Chicago, Damen, Irving Park and Paulina.

 

With the completion of
Wellington, all of the Brown Line stations temporarily closed for renovation
now are open. Although construction remains under way at Belmont and Fullerton,
service continues to operate at both stations.

 

"We are pleased to mark the
completion of renovations at Wellington," said CTA President Richard L.
Rodriguez. "Modernizing the station and making it accessible to customers with
disabilities will help meet the transit needs of CTA customers for many years to
come as well as contribute to the development of the surrounding community."

 

At Wellington, a new station
house was built in the same location as the previous station house, and a new
auxiliary exit was built just north of the station on Nelson Street for added
customer convenience and passage.  With
the addition of two elevators, the Wellington station now is accessible to
customers with disabilities. With this station reopening, 89 of CTA’s 144 rail
stations are accessible.

 

The platforms at Wellington
were reconfigured to accommodate eight-car trains, which allow more customers
to board.  Other conveniences
include accessible turnstiles, brighter lighting, new signs – including Braille
signs – and bike racks.

 

As part of the partnership
between CTA and the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, artwork
is part of station renovations in the overall project. At the Wellington
station, Martin Donlin created an art glass storefront that depicts human
figures in motion, as if passing through the station.

 

Prior to the start of
construction, the average weekday ridership at the Wellington station was
2,700.  Average weekday ridership
on the Brown Line is more than 80,000.

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