Additional bus service will be provided; customers should allow extra travel time
The CTA reminds customers who use the Damen Blue Line station that the station will close for 63 days at 1 a.m. on Monday, October 20, for major renovation work. During this period, customers can use adjacent Blue Line stations at Division and Western, and the CTA will offer additional nearby bus service to help customers affected by the station closure. The CTA recommends that customers plan ahead and allow extra travel time.
The CTA previously announced that the Damen station, built in 1895, will temporarily close to undergo a major rehabilitation as part of the Your New Blue O’Hare branch modernization program. The extensive work will provide a safer, more comfortable transit experience for customers. The Damen station is scheduled to reopen on December 22.
During the station closure period, customers can do the following:
- Access Blue Line trains from the adjacent Division and accessible Western stations, each of each of which are little more than a half a mile away from Damen
- Take advantage of additional service on the #56 Milwaukee bus route on weekdays and weekends to provide connections to the Division and Western stations, and added #70 Division bus service on weekday mornings during the AM rush period
- Overnight, customers can connect to Blue Line service via the temporary #N56 Damen Station Owl route, serving all bus stops between the Western and Division stations
During the station project, some temporary, intermittent street closures of North and Damen avenues during overnight hours will be necessary to complete the work. The CTA will notify residents, including posting signs, of any short-term street closures in a timely manner.
The Your New Blue station work follows extensive track upgrades completed last summer between the Damen and Logan Square stations to increase train speeds and improve reliability.
In December 2013, the CTA and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Your New Blue, the most ambitious service improvement project on the Blue Line since it was extended to O'Hare Airport in 1984. The program will benefit more than 80,000 customers who each weekday use stations along the branch, which had 25 million rides last year. Your New Blue will update a total of 13 Blue Line stations, make elevated and subway infrastructure upgrades, track signal improvements and traction power upgrades.
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