Three Metra Electric stations on Chicago's South Side are slated to be completely rebuilt under a $33.9 million contract recently approved by the Metra Board of Directors.
The three stations, located at 79th Street, 87th Street and 103rd Street, are scheduled to be rebuilt and made accessible as part of the Metra Electric Community Initiative, a multiyear, multi-million dollar plan that aims to revitalize 13 stations on the line.
As part of the reconstruction, the existing stairs, headhouses, platforms and platform structures at the three stations will be demolished, making room for enclosed, ADA-accessible entrances and lobbies at street level.
The new stations will also include elevators, new stairs and headhouses, new platforms and updated lighting, landscaping and signage.
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The work is expected to begin in the summer of 2023 and will require each station to be closed for approximately seven months. The work on the stations will be done in stages however, so that no more than two of the three stations are closed at one time.
In the approved contract, one station must be closed and worked on for 3.5 months before another station is allowed to close and begin work. After 3.5 months of work on the second station, the first station should be slated for reopening, allowing work to begin on the third station.
Similar reconstructive work is underway at the line's 147th Street/Sibley Boulevard station, which began in May 2022 and is expected to be complete by next summer.
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Additionally, a contract has been awarded for a fifth station, in Homewood, to undergo similar work, which is expected to begin next spring.
The contract for the work at the three stations was awarded to IHC Construction of Elgin, which has committed to subcontracting 30% of the work to DBE firms, according to Metra.
