REMINDER: Wells Street Bridge Work Will Suspend Brown, Purple Line Service In Spring
By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 11, 2013 10:20PM
Here's hoping CTA passengers who rely on the Brown and Purple Lines to get downtown already have their alternate routes in place. The first of two planned nine-day periods the agency has slated to rebuild the structure junction at Lake and Wells, aka Tower 18, begins March 1. This means Brown and Purple Line riders will have to schedule a little more time to get where they’re going.
The planned work is being done in conjunction with the ongoing overhaul of the Wells Street Bridge. During the shutdown periods, two out of every three Brown Line trains will continue downtown via the State Street Subway, ending at Roosevelt. The third will remain on the elevated tracks and end its run at Merchandise Mart. Passengers who wish to continue to other Loop stops can transfer to a free shuttle bus at the Chicago Avenue station, which will take them to the Clark/Lake and Washington/Wells stations. There’s also a shuttle bus service that will serve passengers exiting other trains in the Loop. The Red Line and #37 Sedgwick bus route will see have added service during the shutdown periods.
Purple Line riders are effectively SOL. They’ll either need to transfer to Red Line trains at Howard or find alternate means of transportation. We love taking the Purple Line to Evanston. Even on the decaying rail infrastructure north of Belmont, it makes decent time between there and Howard.
For a full list of affected bus and train routes, click here. The first shutdown will run from 10 p.m. March 1 through Morning rush March 11. The second shutdown period runs from 10 p.m. April 26 through morning rush May 6.