CTA completes Clark/Division Red Line Station renovation

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has completed a major renovation project on the Clark/Division Red Line station. The project added a new entrance, as well as a fully renovated and modernized the station.

 

“This investment will make life easier for the thousands of Chicagoans who get on or off the Red Line and Clark and Division, but this is about more than just a CTA station,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Investments like this and other major infrastructure projects we have undertaken throughout Chicago, allow our economy to grow, our neighborhoods to thrive and our city to flourish.”

The project was completed in two stages. In the first phase, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) built an entirely new mezzanine and entrance at LaSalle Street and Division Street. The new 8,800-square-foot mezzanine at LaSalle Street, which opened last summer, increased the entering/exiting capacity of the station by adding stairs, fare turnstiles, elevators and escalators. The station previously had no elevators.

The second stage of the project, which is now complete, involved modernizing the entrances and the mezzanine at Clark Street. With the opening of the entrances at Clark Street, customers can now enter or exit the station at LaSalle Street or Clark Street, improving the experience for station users, particularly at high traffic times of day.

The $50-million construction project was managed by CDOT on behalf of the CTA and supported by Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement funds from the Federal Transit Administration.

“This renovation project shows how CDOT and the CTA are working in partnership to improve the city’s mass transit system,” CDOT Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said. “The Clark/Division station renovation increases the capacity of the station and makes it more inviting for customers, encouraging the use of mass transit.”

“This is yet another great example of how the CTA and CDOT work together to modernize and improve the transit experience for all CTA customers,” said CTA President Dorval Carter, Jr. “We are pleased to continue to invest in the city’s busiest rail line with improvements that benefit CTA customers now and for decades to come.”

Highlights of the renovation project include two new elevators and three new escalators; new granite floors and stairs; new decorative wall and ceiling tiles; brighter and more energy-efficient lighting; new security equipment and customer-assistance kiosks; improved communication and speaker systems; new cast iron street-level entrances and protective canopies and bike ramps and racks to promote alternate modes of transportation.

 

 

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