Today CTA President Ron Huberman was joined by elected officials to commemorate the opening of the newly renovated Diversey Brown Line stationhouse. The new Diversey stationhouse, which replaces the facility that opened for service on the Brown Line in 1900, is located on the south side of the street at 943 W. Diversey, across from the former entrance.
"Customers are enjoying a new vibrant and modernized facility that is functional and newly accessible to customers with disabilities," said CTA President Ron Huberman. "The 100-year-old historic stationhouse will be restored and preserved in keeping with the neighborhood's character. The Diversey station renovation is another example of CTA investing in its infrastructure for the benefit of the communities it serves."
"The Brown Line is the transit backbone of this community so every modernized station like this one that helps get more commuters where they need to go in a timely manner is essential to our economic vitality," said State Representative John Fritchey. "At every level of government, we need to continue to work for even more efficient transportation as we move forward."
"An affordable and efficient transit system benefits the entire region and that's why capital improvement projects like the Brown Line capacity expansion play an important role in helping residents get to work, school, the doctor's office and area businesses," added State Representative Sara Feigenholtz.
The Diversey station, the eleventh station out of 18 renovated as part of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion project, is newly accessible with the addition of elevators. With the opening of the new Diversey stationhouse, 84 out of 144 CTA rail stations are now accessible.
The Diversey station closed for construction last summer. In March, CTA opened a temporary station at Diversey, three months prior to the originally scheduled opening date. Work to lengthen the platforms had been completed and allowed the agency to operate eight-car trains along the Brown Line for the first time, helping to ease congestion on the Brown Line during three-track operations. The introduction of eight-car service occurred nearly 18 months earlier than originally planned.
Additional improvements include accessible turnstiles, brighter lighting, new signage - including Braille signs - and a bike rack. Construction crews will continue to work in the weeks ahead to remove the temporary station and install additional bike racks, original artwork and landscaping.
To foster a sense of ownership and identity within each station and the surrounding community, CTA partnered with the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs to install public art at the 18 stations included in the Brown Line project. The Diversey station will feature a large-scale outdoor sculpture entitled Arriving Home, created by international sculptor Dennis Oppenheim that will be installed later this year adjacent to the north auxiliary exit.
The 10-foot high sculpture, made of steel and polycarbonate and acrylic materials, is in the shape of a torqued spiral which represents travel and the experience by an individual as they approach their destination.
Work has been completed at Kimball, Kedzie, Rockwell, Francisco, Western, Sedgwick, Montrose, Addison, Southport, Armitage and Diversey.
The Brown Line is the third busiest line in the CTA rail system. Prior to the June 2007 closure, the average weekday ridership at Diversey station was 4,378.
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