The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has announced that work on the Phase 1A of its Forest Park Branch Rebuild project is set to conclude on time and on budget this weekend.
This 268 million USD project is reconstructing the CTA Blue Line’s track between LaSalle and Illinois Medical District (IMD) stations. As part of this work, the traction power system that provides electricity to the system is being upgraded to deliver improved service reliability.
In addition, construction crews have demolished and are rebuilding Racine Station to meet modern accessibility guidelines.
To reduce the impact on riders and to efficiently carry out the project, Phase 1 of the Forest Park Branch Rebuild is being performed in two parts.
Throughout Part A, a roughly three-mile stretch of track and the underlying drainage system between the UIC-Halsted and LaSalle stations has been removed and rebuilt.
With the completion of Phase 1A, Blue Line trains are scheduled to resume service to the Clinton and UIC-Halsted stations from Sunday 20 August. These trains will operate between O’Hare and UIC-Halsted and between Forest Park and IMD.
However, there will be no rail service between the UIC-Halsted and IMD stations during Part B of this project, which is expected to conclude in early October. Racine station will also remain closed during this time.
To encourage the use of alternative CTA service options, CTA will continue offering free replacement bus rides and reduced fares on operating rail lines during these closures.
