City, CTA To Begin $30 Million Purple Line Modernization Project
By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jul 9, 2015 9:15PM
The Chicago Transit Authority is set to begin a $30 million project (correction: this article originally misstated that the project would cost $30 billion. It is $30 million.) to modernize the Purple Line Express and eliminate slow zones, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Thursday.
The project will focus on a section of the Purple Line Express tracks which are used to carry some 13,000 commuters between Evanston and the Loop during peak times. The tracks between the Jarvis and Lawrence stations are over 100 years old, city officials said in a press release, and force the train to run slower than it could.
The project is expected to take four months to complete once it begins July 20, with construction only performed on evenings and weekends when the Purple Line does not run that far south.
The city announced plans to move forward with several massive rehabilitation projects to North Side Red and Purple Line tracks and stations earlier this year. The goal of the project is to improve CTA service and transit ridership ahead of the projected population growth in Red and Brown Line service areas, officials have said.
The city has also been working to improve the Brown and Purple Line tracks that travel through Lincoln Park and eliminate slow zones there since this spring.