3/17/06
Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, March 17, the Kimball and Francisco stations on the Brown Line will temporarily close through Sunday, March 19 while construction to expand capacity and make stations accessible continues to move forward. Weekend closures of Kimball and Francisco have also been scheduled for March 24 - 26 and March 31 - April 2. Following the weekend closures, both Kimball and Francisco stations will resume normal weekday service Monday morning.
During the temporary weekend closures at Kimball and Francisco, Brown Line trains operate between the Loop and Western station. Bus shuttle service is provided to customers free of charge from Western station to Kimball station from 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday as a substitute for rail service. The bus shuttle makes stops at the Western station, Rockwell and Lawrence, Sacramento and Lawrence, Kedzie and Lawrence, Kedzie and Wilson, and at the Kimball station.
Approximately 2,000 customers enter the Kimball station on Saturday and 1,200 on Sunday. At Francisco, 485 enter on Saturday and 300 on Sunday.
In addition to the weekend shuttle service, customers in close proximity to the Kimball and Francisco stations are also served by the following seven CTA bus routes: #11 Lincoln, #49 Western, #49B North Western, #78 Montrose, #81 Lawrence, #82 Kimball/Homan and #93 California/Dodge (no Sunday service).
The weekend closures allow crews at Rockwell and Kedzie to demolish the old stations and foundations, and install the new foundations. This work can only be done when trains are not running on live track. On February 20, both the Kedzie and Rockwell stations closed for reconstruction and will remain closed for six months.
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