Project work to improve safety, security and comfort for bus and rail riders, and visually enhance streetscape for surrounding communities
The Chicago Transit Board today approved the award of a design/build contract for the rehabilitation and upgrade of two major Blue Line transit terminals, the Jefferson Park and Belmont stations, as part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s historic Your New Blue project to improve and upgrade the O’Hare branch of the Blue Line. Improvements made as part of this project work will benefit the thousands of people who use these terminals daily.
Providing valuable transit connections for the northwest side of Chicago, the Jefferson Park and Belmont stations are the fourth and seventh-busiest stations along the O’Hare branch, respectively. Modernization of these facilities are part of a number of improvements for the Blue Line that are planned as part of the multi-phase Your New Blue program, and will provide bus and rail riders with a safer, brighter, cleaner and easier-to-navigate travel environment.
Walsh Construction Company II, LLC was awarded the $30.8 million contract following a competitive procurement process. Improvements for both locations includes new signage, interior and exterior painting, new LED lighting, electrical work, and replacement of the bus terminal concrete and rail station platform surfaces.
“It’s our belief here at CTA that an investment in transit is an investment in the surrounding community,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “The improvements we make under this project work will not only benefit our riders, but will also further enhance and add to the aesthetics of the communities they serve.”
Belmont Blue
Announced last fall by Mayor Emanuel and CTA, upgrades to the Belmont Blue Line terminal will include the infusion of a new and unique architectural canopy for the terminal designed by the Chicago architecture firm Carol Ross Barney, which will serve as a community gateway while visually enhancing the street-level entrance to the subway station.
The $17 million project will also include improvements to the bus arrival/departure areas such as new LED lighting, repaved surfaces and new signage to speed bus boarding and provide a safer, more comfortable environment for pedestrians.
Jefferson Park
The $25 million rehabilitation of Jefferson Park will be the largest renovation project since the terminal was reconstructed in 2001 to make it wheelchair accessible. Customers can look forward to newly redesigned canopies for the bus terminal and rail station entryway, and improved reconfiguration of the bus bays to accommodate those with disabilities. Other rail station improvements include rehabbing platform canopies, repair and repainting exterior station walls, plus new benches, windbreaks and trash bins along the platform.
Project work for both stations is expected to begin early next year, with work completing at Belmont in late 2018, followed by the completion of work at Jefferson Park in 2019. More detailed information will be announced at a future date. As with all major projects, CTA will work closely with local elected officials and community members to minimize impacts to customers and provide regular project updates and service impacts.
Your New Blue was announced by Mayor Emanuel in 2013, and is the most ambitious service improvement project on the Blue Line since it was extended to O'Hare Airport in 1984. Improvements made under the Your New Blue program will benefit the more than 80,000 daily riders who enter stations along the branch, which had more than 27 million rides last year.
Among the modernization work completed so far are subway and elevated track renewal and infrastructure repairs, as well as the upgrade of eight of 14 Blue Line stations, which included the installation of an elevator at the Addison station to make that station fully accessible to customers with disabilities. Funding for Your New Blue work is a combination of local, state and federal sources. More info can be found at http://www.transitchicago.com/yournewblue/.
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