Construction work begins at Irving Park Blue Line station as part of Your New Blue project
The Chicago Transit Authority is a convenient and affordable transit option for people traveling to events around Chicago during the holiday weekend, including the Fourth of July Fireworks at Navy Pier, the Skokie Fourth of July Parade and upcoming concerts. Separately, modernization work will begin on the Irving Park Blue Line station next Tuesday, requiring the closure of the Forest Park-bound side of the station platform.
To accommodate customers who are traveling to events throughout the city, the CTA will provide additional rail service beginning early Monday morning. In addition, increased bus service will be provided along routes serving Navy Pier, downtown Loop and lakefront areas.
Customers are reminded that buses and trains will operate on a Sunday/holiday schedule on Monday, July 4, 2016, when Independence Day is observed.
The CTA encourages customers to plan ahead and allow extra travel time. The CTA also strongly recommends that customers purchase fares in advance to decrease travel times and avoid long lines at rail station vending machines. Customers can load ahead of time transit value or unlimited ride passes (1-day, 3-day, 7-day and 30-day) to their Ventra farecards via the free Ventra app, at rail stations, online or at nearly 1,300 local retailers (for locations available or to download the free app, visit: ventrachicago.com). Other ways to pay fares including purchase from CTA vending machines 1-day unlimited ride tickets ($10) or single-ride tickets ($3) that include up to two transfers in two hours. Customers can also pay their fares with their personal contactless debit or credit cards.
NOTE: In anticipation of heavier-than-normal crowds on Monday, July 4, the CTA will require that all strollers and carts be folded prior to boarding buses and trains.
Bicycles will also not be allowed on 'L' trains. Bicycles will, however, continue to be allowed on all buses, at all times, using the racks on the front of the bus.
RAIL SERVICE
Red Line: longer trains and more frequent service will be provided from 5 p.m. until at least midnight.
Blue Line: longer trains will operate from 8 a.m. until midnight and more frequent service from
5 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.
Brown Line: longer trains will operate from 8 a.m. until 1 a.m. and more frequent service from
5 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.
Green Line: longer trains will operate from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. and more frequent service from approximately 7 p.m. until 11 p.m.
Orange Line: longer trains will operate from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. and more frequent service from 7 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.
Pink Line: longer trains will operate from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. and more frequent service from
7 p.m. until 11 p.m.
Purple Line: longer trains will operate from 4:30 p.m. until 11 p.m.
Yellow Line: service hours will be extended and trains will operate until approximately 1 a.m.
Navy Pier Fireworks
The following routes that regularly serve Navy Pier will provide extra service on Monday night for one hour after the fireworks end or as crowds warrant: #29 State, #65 Grand, #66 Chicago, #124 Navy Pier.
Additional bus service also will be provided on the following routes serving the downtown lakefront area: #3 King Drive, #4 Cottage Grove, #12 Roosevelt and the J14 Jeffery Jump.
In addition, the Navy Pier Terminal will be closed Saturday, July 4, from 7:45 p.m. until
11:30 p.m. to regularly scheduled bus service due to the Navy Pier Fireworks Event. As a result, the following reroutes will be in effect:
#29 State
Northbound buses will operate the regular route to Streeter/Grand then turn west on Grand to Peshtigo. Southbound buses will operate on their regular route from Grand/Peshtigo.
#65 Grand/#66 Chicago/#124 Navy Pier
Eastbound buses will operate regular route to Streeter/Grand then turn west on Grand to Peshtigo. Westbound buses will operate on their regular route from Grand/Peshtigo.
Additional reroutes may be implemented due to heavy pedestrian and traffic congestion. Following the fireworks, CTA customers at Navy Pier will be directed to buses awaiting them at the circular drive at the Pier. Having a dedicated space for buses will help CTA to board customers quickly and help mitigate congestion.
Skokie Fourth of July Parade
The CTA Yellow Line Oakton-Skokie station is just a few steps away from the Skokie Fourth of July Parade that begins at noon on Monday, July 4. The route starts at Oakton Community College, 7701 N. Lincoln Avenue, and proceeds west to Oakton Street and then east to Oakton Park, 4701 Oakton Street, which is across the street from the Oakton-Skokie station. The annual parade will include bands, floats and more. For more information on the parade and taking CTA to get you there, visit: www.skokie4th.org.
Weekend Concerts
Guns and Roses at Soldier Field
To accommodate fans attending Guns and Roses concerts Friday and Sunday at Soldier Field, CTA will provide additional bus service on the #130 Museum Campus and #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express routes.
For both events, the extra service on #130 and #146 will run until approximately one hour after the events end.
Customers also can travel to Soldier Field via Red, Orange or Green Line trains. The Roosevelt station is located at Roosevelt and State, a few blocks west of the stadium.
Next Week: Irving Park Blue Line partial platform and two auxiliary entrance closures
Your New Blue station and platform renewal work at the Irving Park Blue Line station will require the temporary closure of two auxiliary entrances and a portion of the platform, beginning 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 5 through Tuesday, July 26. During this time, Forest Park-bound trains will be unable to serve the station.
With the exception of customers who use the Irving Park station, Blue Line riders will see little to no impacts to service.
Accessing the Station
The auxiliary entrances/exits on the north side of Irving Park Road and on the east side of Pulaski Road will be temporarily closed to allow crews to remove and install new walkway and platform flooring.
Customers will need to either use the main entrance on the south side of Irving Park Road or the auxiliary entrance/exit on the west side of Pulaski Road to access train service.
Train Service at Irving Park
For service from Irving Park, Forest Park-bound customers will need to take an O’Hare-bound train to Montrose and transfer to a Forest Park-bound train.
For service to Irving Park, customers will need to take a Forest Park-bound train to Addison and transfer to an O’Hare-bound train.
Alternate Service Options
Customers who use the Irving Park station may want to consider using the adjacent Montrose or Addison stations, where trains will stop in both directions at all times. Customers can use the #152 Addison and #78 Montrose buses to connect to these stations.
The #152, #78, or #80 Irving Park routes also connect to the Brown Line or Red Line farther east for trips to downtown. Customers can also use north-south buses in the area such as the #82 Kimball/Homan to connect to the Blue Line at Belmont station, or the #56 Milwaukee to Jefferson Park or Logan Square stations, or all the way downtown. The Metra Union Pacific Northwest Line service to downtown is also available at Irving Park station, located a short walk west of the CTA Irving Park station.
In December 2013, the CTA and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Your New Blue, the largest modernization investment on the Blue Line since it was extended to O’Hare Airport in 1984. For more information on the Your New Blue project, please visit: http://www.transitchicago.com/yournewblue/.
Stay in the Loop on CTA service
Plan your trip using the Google Transit Trip Planner. Be sure to also check out CTA on Facebook or Twitter (@CTA) for system travel updates and alerts. For details about all CTA service, call 312-836-7000 or visit the CTA website at transitchicago.com.
# # #