When Chicago’s first subway line opened 55 years ago, most city dwellers considered a once-a-week bath sufficient.
Times have changed, and so have the hygienic habits of the city’s dominant people-mover, the Chicago Transit Authority.
Standing passengers and standing stagnant water–the latter pooling around clogged subway sewer drains that haven’t been cleaned in 40 years–is no longer accepted, if it ever was, as part of the mystique of riding the train in Chicago. Neither are the associated odors and the sight of rodentia that are drawn to the niblets of scum floating in the dank subterranean waters.
Launching a new role for itself Tuesday as a clean freak, the CTA brought hot (really hot!) water and plenty of chemical disinfecting soap down to the bowels of the transit system as it embarked on a first-ever intensive subway beautification campaign.
“Before, we’ve had maintenance and mopping. Now, we can really blast away years of grit with our new portable `power-washers,’ ” said CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney.
The cleaning project will begin in earnest Sunday on the Red Line. Starting then and continuing every Sunday between 1 and 9 a.m. until the fall, Red Line trains will be rerouted along the elevated tracks between the Fullerton and Cermak-Chinatown stations so that the subway can be closed for power-washing of the tube and platforms and sewer-rodding. During the Sunday hours when subway stations will be shuttered, electrical and carpentry work and repairs to lights and escalators also will be performed, as well as grouting ceilings to prevent tainted water from dripping on waiting riders.
Stations along the Blue, Brown, Green, Yellow, Purple and Orange Lines will receive detailed attention too, officials said, but those stations won’t close for the work because ridership volumes aren’t as high as on the Red Line.
“In terms of the architectural sense of the subway stations, it is very similar to what you see at O’Hare Airport at the (36-year-old) American Airlines terminal. The difference is that one is well-lit and clean, and the other is dark and uninviting,” said CTA president Frank Kruesi. “We certainly can provide a better environment for our customers.”
CTA officials dubbed their effort the biggest spring cleaning project in the agency’s history, and a demonstration on Tuesday had an almost atomic-powered feel to it.
Workers protected by goggles and donning fluorescent orange raincoats and non-skid boots muscled diesel-fueled “power-washers”–noisy, $9,000 machines that exert a force of 3,000 pounds of water pressure per square inch–around the platform and stairway at the Blue Line station at Monroe Street.
And it was a day of discovery. After the workers scrubbed and buffed and power-sprayed a 4-by-6-foot area for nearly four hours, officials found that the concrete floor of the platform, caked over the years with layers of grime sealed over with wax, is actually an attractive red in tone.
“The red showing through on the floor changes the whole character and feeling of the subway system. It shows our customers and our employees that we really care,” said Kruesi, with unbridled exuberance Tuesday.
When the labor-intensive task of dirt-busting–as well as removing ubiquitous graffiti and already-chewed chewing gum–is complete, crews will then brighten the stations by brushing on a paint that contains finely ground glass crystals to maximize reflectivity.
During the Red Line rerouting on Sundays, CTA shuttle buses will operate to accommodate rail riders who normally use the North/Clybourn, Clark/Division, Chicago/State and Grand/State stations.
Red Line stops in the downtown will be made at Chicago/Franklin, Clark/Lake, State/Lake, Randolph/Wabash, Madison/Wabash, Adams/Wabash and Roosevelt Road. Service from Fullerton northward and Cermak/Chinatown southward will not be affected.
The subway initiative follows CTA expenditures last year of $40 million on neighborhood rail station improvements that are bringing fresh coats of paint, sheltered waiting areas, trash receptacles and construction work to 122 stations.
