10/30/03
The Chicago Transit Authority is completing the main phase of reconstruction on the Red Line's 95th Street station bus terminal today; providing a new bridge surface, bringing customers updated amenities and returning several bus routes to permanent stops at the terminal. The terminal is a busy transportation hub, providing a connection point for CTA, Pace and Greyhound buses and the CTA's Red Line. More than 25,000 rides begin from the terminal each day.
Customers arriving and departing from the station on Friday will benefit from a new concrete bridge surface, bus lanes, curbs, sidewalks and customer islands. Refurbished railings and fencing and a new lighting system also are among the improvements. Final details will be complete over the next several weeks and will include painting the bus canopies, repairing retaining walls and installing decorative lighting on the bridge railing.
"These upgrades also reaffirm the CTA's commitment to providing a pleasant travel experience for our customers," said CTA President Frank Kruesi. "Completed upgrades to the 95th Street bus bridge and turnaround lengthen the lifespan of the bridge's structure."
During the construction process, bus stops for the thirteen CTA bus routes, five Pace bus routes and Greyhound buses that use the terminal were relocated to adjacent sites and gradually have been returning to the terminal as the work progressed. The project's completion means that all bus routes using the 95th Street bus bridge and turnaround will return to permanent bus stops at the terminal on Friday.
West Side of Terminal The last of the bus routes moving to permanent stops on the west side of the reconstructed terminal are #103 West 103rd along with Pace routes #353, #359, #381 and #395. Bus routes already using the west side of the facility are #34 South Michigan, #95E 93rd/95th and #119 Michigan/119th.
East Side of Terminal Bus routes using the east side of the terminal are #N5 South Shore Night Bus, #9 Ashland, #95W West 95th, #100 Jeffery Manor Express, #106 East 103rd, #108 Halsted/95th, #111 Pullman/111th/115th, #112 Vincennes/111th and Pace route #352.
Bus Bridge #29 State and Greyhound buses are using the bus bridge spanning the Dan Ryan Expressway between State and Lafayette on the north side of the terminal.
To help inform customers of the new bus stops, CTA Customer Assistants will be available at the 95th Street bus terminal and rail station, and bus supervisors will be on hand to assist with directions and questions. Signs will be installed at the bus stops and buses and trains enroute to the terminal will display information alerting customers of the changes.
Reconstruction of the 95th Street bus bridge and turnaround is one of the first projects in the larger rehabilitation of the Dan Ryan branch of the CTA's Red Line. The Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line has not had any major rehabilitation work since it was built more than thirty years ago. The work will upgrade seven of the most heavily used stations located between Cermak Road and 95th Street and replace and/or upgrade substations, track and signal systems. Renovations at the 95th Street bus terminal and the 69th Street bus bridge, as well as work at the Sox/35th Red Line station took place this year to begin the overall rehabilitation.
Illinois FIRST, the Federal Transit Administration and the Regional Transportation Authority are providing the funding, which will cost $304 million and is expected to be complete in fall 2006.
The Red Line is the busiest rail line in the CTA system, providing a total of 64.7 million rides in 2002.
Information on CTA service is available on the web site at www.transitchicago.com.
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