CTA News Wrap-Up

By Scott Smith in News on Dec 18, 2006 3:45PM

Yesterday the original Belmont El station was closed, and a temporary entrance was opened 75 feet to the east, similar to the relocation of the Fullerton stop. The temporary entrance will be in use for the next two years, during construction of a new accessible station with improved lighting, turnstiles and platforms. The old station will be preserved and relocated across the street. Transit superfan Tony Coppoletta’s Flickr stream notes that the station initially “opened as a local and express stop on the Northwestern 'L's initial line from downtown to Wilson.”

Also in CTA news, eight bus routes will be re-routed around the Block 37 construction sometime around mid-January. The affected routes are the #14 Jeffery Express, #20 Madison, #X20 Washington/Madison Express, #56 Milwaukee, #60 Blue Island/26th, #124 Navy Pier, #27 Madison/Roosevelt Circulator and the #157 Streeterville. Block 37 will eventually host a combination of retail, entertainment and residential properties as well as a new CTA transit station that isn’t really necessary to support express train service whose need has not been determined.

Finally, if your trip through the Loop seems a bit longer recently, blame the Pink Line. Though some trips are nominally longer, CTA President Frank Kruesi notes that customers benefit from more frequent service throughout the Loop.