06/22/00
Rehabilitation of CTA's Western station on the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line will require customers to use temporary station entrances to both platforms on the west side of Western Avenue, starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 27. The regular station entrance, on the east side of the street at 1909 -11 N. Western, will be closed for rehabilitation until next year.
The temporary entrances to the station are at the top of permanent new stairways leading to both platforms. Fare collection will be at the platform level. The northernmost street-level stairway will lead to the platform for trains to O'Hare, and the southernmost stairway will be for customers taking trains to downtown and the West Side.
Once the original station has been reopened after rehabilitation, the temporary entrances will become secondary entrances and exits for both platforms. At that time, high-barrier gates will be installed to permit exiting at all times and entry for customers using Transit Cards. This will provide added convenience for customers approaching the station from the west or using southbound buses on Western.
The rehab project will require replacing both platforms as well as support beams that span Western Avenue. There will be full-length canopies over platforms for protection from inclement weather. ADA accessibility for customers with disabilities will include an elevator to each platform, audio/visual signs announcing train arrivals, braille-tactile signs, and tactile edging at the platform level and at the top of the stairs.
Western is one of three remaining elevated stations on what was once the Logan Square branch of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad that began service in 1895 between downtown and Logan Square. The ?Met?, as it was known, was Chicago's first 'L' line to use electric power for train operations.
To preserve historic elements of the station, portions of the original Queen Anne-style station house fa?ade will be restored, as will Art Deco remnants from a 1930s-era modernization. Among the new additions will be customer call buttons, a transit information board, and heated windbreaks.
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