CTA’s Loyola Station gets $11 million from feds for improvements

The Chicago Transit Authority will receive $11 million in federal funding to begin immediate repairs to the dilapidated Loyola CTA Station and to conduct an environmental study on the extension and modernization of the Red and Purple Lines. The design work for the Loyola CTA station project is already underway and construction is slated to begin in the spring of 2012. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured $10 million in federal funding for the project in the fiscal year 2010 Transportation and Housing Appropriations bill, and $1 million in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU). "It's part of our larger plans to renovate the Red Line from Howard to 95th Street and extend it south to provide service to areas not presently served," said Chicago Transit Board Chairman Terry Peterson. At the Loyola CTA Station, the federal and local investment will help stabilize existing infrastructure, make upgrades to the existing station and redirect passenger flow for pedestrian safety. The project will include upgrades to the viaduct and improve lighting and visibility. The Red and Purple modernization is proposed to bring those lines to a state of good repair from north of Belmont in Chicago to the Linden Station in Wilmette.