CTA to Provide Extra Service for Air and Water Show, Upcoming Wrigley Field Concerts and Bears Game
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will provide additional service for spectators heading to the annual Chicago Air and Water Show on Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21, 2016. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days along the lakefront from Oak Street Beach to Fullerton. The best viewing location will be at North Avenue Beach.
CTA is also providing extra service for upcoming Pearl Jam, Billy Joel and Luke Bryan concerts at Wrigley Field and the Chicago Bears pre-season game at Soldier Field.
Customers traveling to and from events are encouraged to purchase fares in advance, which will decrease travel times and help 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 at rail stations, online or at nearly 1,300 local retailers (locations available at ventrachicago.com). Customers can also add value to their accounts by using the Ventra app, available for free download via www.ventrachicago.com, the App Store and Google Play.
2016 Air and Water Show
Rail Service
To accommodate the increased number of customers traveling to and from the Air and Water Show, longer trains will operate along the following rail lines on both Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.
- Blue Line
- Brown Line
- Green Line
- Orange Line
Bus Service
CTA will also provide extra service on the #72 North Avenue and #151 Sheridan routes. The extra service will begin at approximately 9 a.m. and conclude approximately one hour after the event ends each day.
On both days, extra bus service will be provided on the #72 North Avenue and #151 Sheridan routes, which operate close to all the activities. Additionally, #72 buses only will travel as far east as North Avenue and Clark in order to avoid traffic congestion near the North Avenue Beach area.
Please note that the North Avenue Beach Terminal will be closed to all vehicular traffic until Monday, August 22nd at 3:00 p.m.
Chicago Bears Pre-Season Game at Soldier Field
The Chicago Bears will host the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field Saturday, August 27 at noon. The CTA will operate the #128 Soldier Field Express between Union Station, Ogilvie and Soldier Field, and will provide additional #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express service for customers heading to the game. Additional service will begin at approximately two hours before game time and continue until one hour after the game ends.
For more information on getting to the game on the CTA, please visit: http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/popdest/sports.aspx.
Wrigley Field Concerts
To accommodate concert-goers heading to Wrigley Field for the upcoming Pearl Jam, Billy Joel and Luke Bryan concerts, the CTA will provide additional service on the #80 Irving Park and the #152 Addison from approximately two hours before the concerts begin until one hour after the concerts end. CTA will provide extra service for:
- Saturday, August 20 at 7:30 p.m. – Pearl Jam concert
- Monday, August 22 at 7:30 p.m. – Pearl Jam concert
- Friday, August 26 at 8 p.m. – Billy Joel concert
- Saturday, August 27 at 6 p.m. – Luke Bryan concert
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.
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