11/29/02
As part of the CTA's rehabilitation of the Cermak (Douglas) Branch of the Blue Line, a temporary station will open on December 2 for CTA customers who normally access the Western and Hoyne/Damen Stations. To access the station, customers can enter on Leavitt, two blocks east of Western, or on Cullerton, a half block west of Hoyne. Both entrances will be equipped with turnstiles, fare equipment machines and other amenities.
When the newly reconstructed Western and Hoyne/Damen stations are completed, they will have elevators and other amenities to make them fully accessible to customers with disabilities. Both stations will have center platforms that are functional and add to the comfort of CTA passengers as they wait to board trains. Platform amenities will include information kiosks, benches, canopies and windbreaks with overhead heaters to protect customers from the elements during inclement weather.
The newly renovated Western station will be located in the same approximate location on the east side of Western Avenue, with a secondary fare card entrance on the west side of Western that will allows for more convenient bus transfers.
The main entrance for the newly renovated Hoyne/Damen station will be located on the west side of Damen Avenue, which will allow for a direct connection to the #50 Damen bus line. An auxiliary fare card entrance will remain on Hoyne Avenue. The historic canopies will be salvaged, restored and reinstalled on the center platform near the Hoyne entrance.
The temporary facility is expected to be in use for approximately 12 months while the new stations are under construction. On an average weekday, the Western station serves 548 customers, while the Hoyne station serves 766 customers.
Since the rehabilitation project began in September 2001, the CTA has completed more than 600 caissons, or foundations for the support columns, and poured over 500 columns. Other completed work includes the replacement of 338 spans of steel elevated structure and the completion of the foundation for the new 54th/Cermak station. These stations, along with eight other stations along the branch, are a part of the agency's $482.6 million Cermak (Douglas) Rehabilitation Project.
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