11/30/07
Slow Zone Work
Blue Line Service from Jefferson Park to Cumberland Temporarily Suspended
Rail service between the Jefferson Park and Cumberland Blue Line stations will be temporarily suspended from 9 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 3 a.m. Monday, December 3 in order to replace deteriorated rail ties, tie plates and spikes. Bus shuttles will operate as a substitute for rail service between the Jefferson Park, Harlem and Cumberland stations. Extra travel time is advisable.
In addition, to help speed work, the inner most westbound lane of traffic will be closed on the Kennedy Expressway from Jefferson Park to Cumberland from 10 p.m. Friday night until 8 a.m. Sunday morning. On recent weekends, lane closures have occurred overnight, but this weekend the closure will continue all day Saturday, December 1 and into Sunday morning.
From midnight Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday and again from midnight Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday, two inbound lanes will be closed to traffic.
Motorists should expect additional traffic congestion throughout the area.
The work from Jefferson Park to Harlem will be completed by the end of this year and eliminate more than 25,000 feet of slow zones. The work is part of an aggressive plan to eliminate slow zones on the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line and redesign the tracks to allow trains to reach speeds above 60 mph.
Next Week
Weeknight Reroutes of Red Line Subway Trains to Elevated ContinuesSouthbound Red Line trains that normally operate through the subway between the Fullerton station and the Cermak/Chinatown station will be rerouted from the subway to the elevated tracks from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Monday, December 3, Tuesday, December 4 and Wednesday, December 5.
Northbound Red Line trains that normally operate through the subway between the Cermak/Chinatown station and the Fullerton station will reroute to the elevated tracks from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. two nights next week on Thursday, December 6 and Friday, December 7.
Rerouted trains will stop at the following elevated stations between Cermak/Chinatown and Fullerton: Roosevelt/Wabash, Adams/Wabash, Madison/Wabash, Randolph/Wabash, State/Lake, Clark/Lake, Merchandise Mart, Chicago/Franklin and Sedgwick. The Merchandise Mart station is available as an exit only (via stairway) from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
(see separate release for details)
Red Line Subway Reconstruction at Grand/State
During the Red Line Subway reconstruction at Grand/State, the following bus stops will be eliminated and/or relocated beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, December 3 through 4 p.m. Friday, January 11, 2008:
#29 State
The southbound far side service stop at State and Grand will be eliminated and a new southbound near side service stop will be created at State and Illinois.
#36 Broadway
The northbound near side service stop at State and Grand will be relocated to a new northbound near side service stop at State and Ohio.
The southbound near side service stop at State and Grand will be eliminated and a new southbound near side service stop will be created at State and Illinois.
#65 Grand
The westbound near side service stop at Grand and State will be eliminated. There is an existing westbound near side service stop at Grand and Dearborn.
Other Events Affecting Service
Single Track in Effect on Dan Ryan Branch of Red Line
A single track will be in effect between the 47th Street and Garfield stations on the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line beginning 11 p.m. Friday, November 30 until 4:30 a.m. Saturday, December 1.
Northbound customers at 47th Street must board and exit trains from the southbound platform.
Saturday Reroutes of Red and Brown Lines
Due to construction work associated with the Fullerton, Diversey and Belmont stations, northbound Red and Brown line trains will be rerouted to operate on the southbound Red Line tracks at Fullerton and Belmont on Saturday, December 1 from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Northbound Red and Brown line customers will board and exit trains on the southbound Red Line platform. Southbound Red and Brown line customers will board and exit trains on the southbound Brown Line platform.
During this time, northbound Brown Line trains will be unable to stop at Wellington station; therefore, customers who want to exit at Wellington should continue to ride north to Belmont and then take a southbound train to Wellington. Northbound customers who wish to board at Wellington should take a southbound train to Fullerton and board a northbound train.
Customers are asked to allow extra travel time. CTA operators will announce the direction of each train.
Howard Station Construction
The southbound platform at the Howard Red Line station will be temporarily out of service for construction work from 11 p.m. Friday, November 30 until 4 a.m. Monday, December 3. Customers must board trains from the northbound platform.
63rd Street Closes for Holiday Parade Saturday
Five CTA bus routes will be detoured from 63rd Street and adjacent streets for the Greater Southwest Development Holiday Parade on Saturday, December 1. The parade will assemble on Tripp and Kildare starting at noon, and proceed east on 63rd to Oakley and to 62nd. The street closures will remain in effect until approximately 3:30 p.m.
The affected routes are the #49 Western, #52A South Kedzie, #53A South Pulaski, #63 63rd and #94 South California. Customers should allow extra travel time.
CTA Provides Service for Bears versus Giants Game
The Chicago Bears host the New York Giants at Solder Field on Sunday, December 2 at 3:15 p.m. The #12 Roosevelt, #128 Soldier Field Express and #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express are convenient travel options for fans heading to the game.
More frequent service will operate on the #12 and the #146 beginning at 10 a.m. #128 Soldier Field Express buses operate non-stop between the Ogilvie Transportation Center, Union Station and Soldier Field. Service will operate from 1 p.m. until 3:45 p.m. After the game, buses will leave Soldier Field every few minutes for one hour.
The fare for #128 buses is $1 for full-fare customers and 50 cents for reduced-fare customers. The exact cash fare is required.
In addition, CTA will operate longer Orange and Green Line trains for customers traveling to and from Soldier Field. The station is at Roosevelt and State, a few blocks west of the stadium.
Next Week
Addison Brown Line Station Reopens, Irving Park Temporarily Closes
On Monday, December 3, 2007, CTA will reopen the Addison station and close the Irving Park station for up to 12 months for renovation as part of the Brown Line capacity expansion project. The adjacent stations ?the newly-accessible Montrose and Addison ? will remain open so customers near the Irving Park station may continue to access Brown Line service. In addition to these nearby rail stations, there are nine CTA bus routes that provide service near Irving Park station: #9 Ashland, #X9 Ashland Express, #11 Lincoln/Sedgwick, #22 Clark, #50 Damen, #78 Montrose, #80 Irving Park, #X80 Irving Park Express and #152 Addison.
(see separate release for details)
Holiday Hours in Effect on #10 Museum of Science & Industry Bus Route
With the exception of a few select dates, hours of operation on the #10 Museum of Science & Industry route are extended through Sunday, January 6, 2008. During this time, the Museum of Science & Industry will open at 9:30 a.m. Closing times will vary.
Service on the #10 will begin operating at 8:55 a.m. from Chestnut/Lake Shore Drive each morning and the last bus will depart from the Museum of Science & Industry approximately 40 minutes after the museum closes.
The museum will be closed and there will be no service on the #10 route on Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25. The #10 will not operate from Wednesday, January 2 through Friday, January 4.
Dorchester Closed for Construction
Dorchester continues to be closed between 60th and 61st streets through 3 p.m. Monday, January 7 due to construction.
Eastbound #59 59th/61st buses will travel over the regular route to 61st then will operate via Cottage, 60th, Dorchester, Midway Plaisance, Stony Island to 60th. Westbound buses will operate via 60th, Dorchester, Cottage Grove then return to 61st and resume the regular route.
Customers are advised to allow extra travel time.
#19 United Center Express Serves Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks Games
CTA will operate its #19 United Center Express buses for the following games at the United Center:
- Friday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m. " Blackhawks versus Phoenix Coyotes
- Saturday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m. " Bulls versus Charlotte Bobcats
- Monday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. " Bulls versus Dallas Mavericks
- Wednesday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. " Blackhawks versus Vancouver Canucks
Buses will leave every 12 minutes from Michigan and Superior starting two hours before game time until 30 minutes before the game begins. When the game ends, #19 buses will depart the United Center approximately every 15 minutes for one hour.
#19 buses will make all stops on Michigan from Superior to Washington, and on Madison from Wabash to Clinton. From Clinton, #19 buses run express to the United Center.
After the game, #19 buses will await customers on the north side of the United Center eastbound on Madison near Gate 3. On the return trip, #19 buses operate through downtown east on Washington to Wacker, then head south to Monroe and east to Michigan, making all stops from Jefferson to Michigan before turning north on Michigan and making all stops from Randolph to Chicago.
Bus Stop Changes
Effective Monday, December 3 through Monday, December 17 the eastbound far side service stop on North Avenue at Clybourn ? for the #33 Magnificent Mile Express and #72 North Avenue buses ? will be temporarily relocated approximately 150 ft. further east due to construction.
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