CTA State/Lake elevated station 3-year closure begins
The State/Lake Loop 'L' stop has now closed, and won't reopen for three years, as the historic station is completely demolished and rebuilt.
The Chicago Transit Authority elevated station, which serves the Brown, Green, Purple, Orange, and Pink lines, is 130 years old. The city announced in early December that the old station will be completely demolished and rebuilt as a "new, fully accessible rail hub."
Hard hats were seen before dawn at the now-shuttered station, with signs up alerting riders that the 'L' stop is now off limits. Work on Monday began with lead paint removal.
Preparations have been under way for some time for the project. On Sunday, anyone getting off at the Lake Street CTA Red Line subway stop on Sunday might have noticed some new signage near the station's stairways to street level.
The updated signs direct passengers looking to transfer to the elevated lines to head for the Washington/Wabash stop, a short walk to the southeast, instead of the elevated State/Lake platform overhead.
This is because there will be no elevated State/Lake platform for the next three years, and 'L' trains will skip the station.
The State/Lake elevated station is one of the oldest in the city's system and has the fifth-highest ridership. Officials said the new station will have wider platforms, four new elevators with full ADA accessibility, two escalators, a glass canopy, and improved lighting and visibility.
"It's a really old station. Aesthetically, it's really pretty challenged," said transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman of DePaul University. "So this is a critical project for the CTA. So much traffic connects through there. It's really important we get a better station and do it soon."
The project will cost $444 million. Construction will take at least three years, with the new station set to open in 2029. That price doesn't sit well with some passengers.
"I feel like it's kind of dumb in my opinion, because like we don't really need this, and I feel like we should use his money for something else in my opinion," said Brighton Park resident Michelle Cortes.
Little Village resident Jacqueline Sanchez was taking some photos on the platform on the station's last day in operation.
"I went to high school downtown, and I used to work downtown, so I would use this station almost every day," she said. "I don't take it anymore, so I was like, you know what, this is a great way to say bye."
Other riders were unaware it would be their last time on the decades-old platform.
"And no, I didn't know that, and that's actually crazy because I like this train," said rider Kennedi Brown.
Schwieterman said three years is a long time, but hopes it's a worst-case scenario for the reconstruction timetable.
Meanwhile, during the reconstruction project, there will be some disruptions for both commuters and people who work and live nearby.
Project updates posted online said to expect daytime and nighttime construction crews onsite. Both will be assigned to demolition work for the foreseeable future, with an attempt to keep work that causes loud noises and vibrations limited to the hours between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The project will be disruptive in numerous ways.
"There is going to be some hardship, probably walking through construction sites at certain times and even having to rethink your trip," Schwieterman said.
Transfers between lines will be complicated in particular.
"You know, the biggest impact is people making connections between the Loop elevator and the Red Line are going to get off at a different station that involves a couple blocks of walking, and even those on buses might have impacts with State Street being a construction site so it's a lot of things at once, and we're going to feel the effects," he said.
State Street has already been partially closed for months for construction, and crossing the Chicago River at State Street has not been an option. This has affected bus traffic already for months upon months — the No. 36 Broadway bus, which runs on State Street from Division Street south to Van Buren Street, has been rerouted by way of Kinzie Street, Clark Street, and Wacker Drive.
Even more of State Street downtown is now disrupted. The southbound lanes closed Monday from Wacker Drive to Washington Street. Northbound State Street saw all lanes reopened.
There could also be some changes to bus services with the street closures that accompany construction, but as of Sunday, the CTA has not shared those changes.
But for the next few years, anyone walking, biking or driving near the shuttered State/Lake stop is advised to watch for active construction.