CTA will provide free bus shuttle service between Addison and Belmont for customers as construction crews install structural supports for new Red-Purple Bypass bridge over the Red and Purple Line tracks north of Belmont
As part of the CTA’s historic Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase One Project, the agency will temporarily suspend Red Line service between two Red Line stations at Addison and Belmont for two weekends in January to allow the RPM construction contractor to install a section of track structure for the Red-Purple Bypass that crosses over Red and Purple tracks.
During the weekend-only work, CTA will offer free bus shuttle connections between Addison and Belmont to alleviate the temporary inconvenience for CTA customers for the following weekends:
- Friday, Jan. 8 starting at 10 p.m. to Monday, Jan. 11 at 4 a.m.
- Friday, Jan. 15, starting at 10 p.m. to Monday, Jan. 18 at 4 a.m.
CTA’s contractor for the RPM project, Walsh-Fluor, will perform the following work. Once this work is completed, CTA customers on Red and Purple trains will ride under the Bypass structure for the first time. The work includes:
- Placing the straddle bent that connects the columns on either side of the Red-Purple Bypass tracks
- Installing steel girders that form the backbone of the Red-Purple Bypass
The Red-Purple Bypass is a major component of Phase One of RPM, which will also rebuild the century-old rail structure between the Lawrence and Bryn Mawr stations. Work performed as part of RPM Phase One will make commuting better for all CTA riders with improved service and modern, fully accessible stations. CTA expects to begin reconstruction of track structures and four Red Line stations between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr in 2021.
CTA in 2019 began constructing the Red-Purple Bypass, which will allow Kimball-bound (northbound) Brown Line trains to cross over north- and southbound Red and Purple Line tracks just north of Belmont station. The bypass will improve service reliability on the Red, Purple and Brown lines, increasing train speeds, easing overcrowding on rail cars, and providing CTA the ability to increase the number of trains it can run during the busiest travel periods. The bypass replaces a rail junction that was built in 1907 and that historically has carried about 150,000 rides each weekday. The Red-Purple Bypass will be completed in 2021, to be followed by reconstruction of Red and Purple Line track structure between Belmont station and to about Cornelia Avenue to the north.
For more information about the RPM project, visit transitchicago.com/rpm. To sign up for construction alerts, visit transitchicago.com/rpmalerts and for CTA service alerts transitchicago.com/updates. Follow the RPM project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Construction crews will install Red-Purple Bypass track structure over the Red and Purple line tracks north of Belmont for two weekends in January 2021. When the work is completed, Red and Purple Line customers will travel under the new bypass bridge.
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