Metra Breaks Ground on South Water Street Renovation
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Millennium Station lobby
Metra
CHICAGO - Metra announced October 9 it broke ground on a renovation project at Millennium Station on its Electric Line.
Metra has already finished renovations at 79th Street/Chatham, 87th Street/Woodruff, and 103rd Street/Rosemoor stations, as previously reported by RT&S. In that October 7 story, RT&S reported that Metra has worked to carry out a rehabilitation contract totaling $33.9 million as part of a larger multiyear, multimillion dollar plan that focuses on 13 stations. Each station is now ADA-accessible with new stairs, headhouses, composite deck platforms, lighting, and signage.
Now, according to Metra, the project seeks to renovate the South Water entrance to the station. As part of the project, crews will make ADA improvements, renovate the waiting areas, staff areas, and restrooms, replace staircases, canopies, and elevators, and enhance visibility at Lower South Water Street. Crews will also work to add a new vendor space, lighting, benches, signs, and digital displays.
To complete this work, Metra awarded an $8.1 million contract for renovation work to PREMIER Design + Build Group of Buffalo Grove. PREMIER Design + Build Group says it will subcontract 25% of the work to DBE firms. FTA and Rebuild Illinois program funds will go toward the project which is slated to complete in 2027.
Metra Executive Director and CEO Jim Derwinski said, “This work is part of a multimillion-dollar, multiyear effort to renovate stations along the Metra Electric Line. . . The goal is to create stations that are more welcoming, comfortable, functional, and safe for our customers.”
