06/21/06
Work scheduled this weekend on the Brown Line will result in a 12-hour closure of both the Kimball and Francisco stations from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 25.
During the Sunday closure of Kimball and Francisco, Brown Line trains will operate between the Loop and Western station. Bus shuttle service will be provided to customers free of charge from Western station to Kimball station during regular Brown Line hours as a substitute for rail service. The bus shuttle will make stops at the Western station, Rockwell and Lawrence, Sacramento and Lawrence, Kedzie and Lawrence, Kedzie and Wilson, and at the Kimball station.
On an average Sunday, approximately 900 customers enter the Kimball station and 200 enter the Francisco station.
In addition to the Sunday shuttle service, customers in close proximity to the Kimball and Francisco stations are also served by the following six CTA bus routes: #11 Lincoln, #49 Western, #49B North Western, #78 Montrose, #81 Lawrence and #82 Kimball/Homan.
On February 20, both the Kedzie and Rockwell stations closed for reconstruction and will remain closed for six months. Western station will remain open throughout construction.
Customers in close proximity to the Kedzie station are also served by the following four CTA bus routes: #78 Montrose, #81 Lawrence, #82 Kimball/Homan and #93 California/Dodge. Customers in close proximity to the Rockwell station are served by the following six CTA bus routes: #11 Lincoln, #49 Western, #49B North Western, #X49 Western Express, #78 Montrose and the #81 Lawrence.
The station work at Rockwell and Kedzie remains on schedule. The construction contract for the at-grade stations provides for up to ten 52-hour temporary weekend closures, for a total of 520 hours. As the work at these stations has progressed, several weekends have consisted of 52-hour temporary closures but, in some instances, the contractor has not needed an entire 52 consecutive hours on a particular weekend.
To be efficient, keep the project on schedule, and to minimize service disruptions for weekend customers and the community, the CTA agreed to the contractor's request for occasional shorter closures, with the understanding that the total number of weekend closure hours should not exceed the 520 that was the basis of their original schedule. The shorter closures have allowed construction crews to keep the project moving and allowed the CTA to keep Kimball and Francisco stations open to customers for one day on the weekends when this has occurred.
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