State & Lake CTA station closes Monday for three years. Here's how it impacts you.
The final preparations are under way for the CTA State/Lake station to close Monday for the next three years, as it's demolished and reconstructed.
The elevated station, which serves the Brown, Green, Purple, Orange and Pink lines, is 120 years old. The city announced it will be completely demolished and rebuilt as a "new, fully accessible rail hub" in early December.
The closure will have repercussions for CTA riders, drivers and pedestrians alike. It has the fifth-highest ridership in the CTA system.
Riders who typically get off at State/Lake will now have to exit the train at Clark/Lake or Washington/Wabash. Trains will bypass the State/Lake stop. The underground Red Line Lake station will remain open for the duration of construction.
Bus stops will remain in place on State Street, but during the three years of work temporary reroutes are possible, CTA said.
For drivers, eastbound Lake Street between State and Wabash will be intermittently closed during non-peak hours. Those closures began in December. Starting Monday, Lake Street between Dearborn and Wabash will be limited to local traffic only.
State Street has already been partially closed for months for construction; the southbound lanes will be closed from Wacker to Washington starting Monday, the city. Northbound State will see all lanes reopened.
Sidewalks will remain open for pedestrians.
Construction is expected to take at least three years, with the new, fully ADA accessible station set to open in 2029. The new station will also have a glass canopy, and improved lighting and visibility.