CTA Wilson Station Makeover Could Unleash Influx of Rats into Uptown

The Chicago Transit Authority wants to give residents in Uptown a bit of a heads up: Construction of the CTA's Wilson Red Line station will mean an influx of rats. Yep, rats.

DNAInfo reports Ald. James Cappleman (46th) held a community meeting with the CTA this week to inform residents that project organizers expect rats to surface during the demolition nearby vacant buildings, but they're ready with a pre-construction abatement program.

It's unclear how many rats will run for cover, the CTA told DNAInfo.

The Wilson station's much-needed makeover is expected to start in the fall. The $203 million project not only will upgrade station signals and surrounding track, but it also will completely reconstruct the station, adding a glass and steel canopy, glass-enclosed entrance and another entrance with access to Target and Aldi.

"This is a great starting point for the future design of an important station that helps thousands of Chicagoans get to work and school each day," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said when the project was announced last year. "The Red Line is the backbone of our transportation network."

Wilson also will become a "transfer station," the only Red Line stop between Howard and Belmont to provide access between the Red and Purple lines.

Considered one of the largest station projects in CTA history according to the mayor's office, it's part of a larger $1 billion Red Line renovation plan. Reconstruction will go through 2015, but the station will remain open.

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