CHICAGO — Chicago Transit Authority’s Diversey station — on the Brown Line — will temporarily close for renovation.
The closure begins June 25and will be closed for 12 months while construction crews work to upgrade and extend platforms, rebuild the stationhouse and make the station accessible to customers with disabilities. The adjacent stations – Wellington and Fullerton – will remain open during the temporary closure of the Diversey station so customers may continue to use them to access Brown Line service.
When the Diversey station reopens next year customers will have a new stationhouse and platform with a new elevator and an accessible turnstile that will allow customers with disabilities to use the station. In addition, wider stairways, additional turnstiles and improved entrances and exits will allow for a better flow of customer traffic.
When the entire Brown Line project is completed in 2009, longer platforms will allow eight-car trains to berth at each station on the Brown Line, which will allow many more customers to board. Currently the platforms along the Brown Line are only able to accommodate six-car trains. Other improvements include security cameras, brighter lighting, tactile edging on the platforms and upgraded public address systems.
“We understand that the temporary closure of this station will inconvenience customers but it is necessary to allow construction crews the access to perform the work that will significantly transform this station,” said CTA President Ron Huberman. “The renovations will upgrade and modernize the station and improve the service for all CTA customers. The reopened Francisco, Kimball, Kedzie and Rockwell stations are visible examples of the improvements Brown Line customers will see as a result of CTA’s investment in its infrastructure.”
The Diversey station is located in an area where existing CTA service is plentiful. In addition to nearby rail stations, there are six existing CTA bus routes that provide service near Diversey station on weekdays and weekends, the #8 Halsted, #11 Lincoln/Sedgwick, #22 Clark, #36 Broadway, #74 Fullerton and the #76 Diversey.
Signs with the upcoming closure date and information on alternate service for Diversey are posted at the station and on Brown Line trains, as well as at the Wellington and Fullerton stations. Information on the temporary closure, available service and overall project is also available on CTA’s web site, www.transitchicago.com, or at www.ctabrownline.com.
Work will continue to be scheduled so that no two adjacent stations are closed at the same time on weekdays. Temporary closures are necessary in order to have the type of access needed to extend platforms, make stations accessible, stay within budget and keep the project on schedule.
As part of the $530 million Brown Line capacity expansion project platforms will be lengthened to accommodate eight-car trains instead of the six-car trains currently in use, which will allow many more customers to board. In addition, stations will be made accessible to customers with disabilities by installing ramps or elevators and accessible turnstiles.
The stations themselves will be rebuilt, with wider stairways, additional turnstiles and improved entrances and exits to allow for a better flow of customer traffic. The project is scheduled for completion on December 31, 2009.
Operating between downtown and the Northwest Side, the Brown Line was originally constructed in two phases, opening for service in 1900 and 1907. The line is the third busiest of CTA’s rail lines, serving more than 66,000 customers each weekday, with 19 stations from Kimball on the north to the downtown Chicago Loop.
— Special to Railfanning.org News Wire
