There’s still no start date for the major renovation project planned for the CTA’s Brown Line, the transit agency said Monday.
The $530 million project, which was originally expected to begin earlier this year, does not yet have a construction timeline because the CTA will soon be asking for new construction bids. (Earlier bids were rejected in June because they were too high.)
After new construction companies are selected, a start date will be determined, said Sheila Gregory, a CTA spokeswoman.
“It will be sooner rather than later,” Gregory said.
The upgrade to the Brown Line, one of the CTA’s most crowded lines, was announced in the late 1990s. In the last
25 years, the number of riders has increased 83 percent.
Highlights of the project include upgrading 18 stations; lengthening platforms to accommodate eight-car trains; making all stations fully accessible to disabled riders; upgrading tracks and signals; adding five new substations; and upgrading or demolishing other substations.
The renovation will be the costliest undertaking in CTA history.
When the project was announced, the rehab was expected to begin by spring of 2004. Although the start date has been pushed back, CTA officials say they still expect to finish the renovations by the scheduled finish date of Dec. 31, 2009.
Some community groups doubt the project will meet that goal.
“It’s as if the whole thing has ground to a halt,” said Jacqueline Leavy, executive director of the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group/Campaign for Better Transit.
Leavy said the CTA has not been upfront with community members about the status of the renovation project.
“It’s just really up in the air, and the community groups are just kind of disheartened,” she said.
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A bad year for the Brown Line
The Brown Line has experienced an unfortunate string of service disruptions this year, delaying thousands of commuters along the way.
Feb. 3: During the evening rush hour, a Purple Line train rear-ends a Brown Line train (above) just north of the Merchandise Mart stop, sending about 45 people to area hospitals with minor injuries and delaying thousands of commuters. The operator of the Purple Line train later told investigators that he had been distracted by what he thought was a car accident on the street below and he didn’t see or hear warning signals.
Feb. 21: Brown Line service is disrupted after a CTA substation at 4650 N.
Lincoln Ave. is severely damaged in a fire. The CTA warns commuters that Brown Line travel north of Belmont will be delayed for a couple of weeks until repairs can be made. Regular service was restored March 1.
July 4: The Brown Line is temporarily shut down after two fake bomb threats. The first call came in shortly before
11 a.m. from a caller at a pay phone in the 2900 block of West Lawrence Avenue, and the second came in about 2:15 p.m. from a caller in the 3800 block of North Kedzie Avenue, according to a Chicago Police Department spokesman.
TRIBUNE
