03/30/07
The Chicago Transit Authority today reminded customers that beginning Monday,April 2, the Southport station on the Brown Line will temporarily close for 12 months while construction crews work to upgrade and extend platforms, rebuild the stationhouse and make the station accessible to customers with disabilities.
Customers can continue to access Brown Line service via the Paulina and Belmont stations which are adjacent to the Southport station. In addition, six CTA bus routes provide service near the Southport station on weekdays and weekends: the #9 Ashland, #11 Lincoln/Sedgwick, #22 Clark, #77 Belmont, #152 Addison and the #X9 Ashland Express (weekday service until 7 p.m.).
When the Southport station reopens next year customers will have a new stationhouse and platform with a new elevator and an accessible turnstile that will allow customers with disabilities to use the station. In addition, wider stairways, additional turnstiles and improved entrances and exits will allow for a better flow of customer traffic.
The temporary closure of the Southport station is part of the overall Brown Line capacity expansion project. When the entire project is completed in 2009, longer platforms will allow eight-car trains to berth at each station on the Brown Line, which will allow many more customers to board. Currently the platforms along the Brown Line are only able to accommodate six-car trains. Other improvements include security cameras, brighter lighting, tactile edging on the platforms and upgraded public address systems.
Information on the temporary closure, available service and overall project is available on CTA's web site, www.transitchicago.com, or at www.ctabrownline.com.
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