Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other Chicago officials announced Monday the CTA will renovate one of of the transportation system's busiest locations.
Mayor Emanuel, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Congressman Bobby Rush, Governor Pat Quinn and the Federal Transit Administration's Peter Rogoff announced plans to use a $20 million federal grant to help upgrade and expand the 95th Street terminal which could reduce pedestrian and bus congestion, cut travel times, improve accessibility and create jobs on the South Side according to a statement.
The CTA received the federal TIGER grant early last week and will move forward with a project they're calling the 95th Street Terminal Improvement Project.
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
The goal is to renew the heavily used CTA stop.
Emanuel said the station will be an engine of job growth and opportunity for the entire South Side of the city.
“I am one hundred percent committed to having world-class infrastructure throughout the City of Chicago, and I will always fight for every opportunity to rebuild, repair, or renew our infrastructure and keep Chicago competitive,” said Emanuel in a statement. “That is what I did with the $20 million of TIGER funding for this crucial project, which will help tens of thousands of Chicagoans a day get to their jobs and schools and enjoy our city in a safe, efficient fashion."
CTA's 95th Street station is a critical piece of CTA's Red Line. Nearly 20,000 commuters pass through the station each weekday via bus or train. The heavily used station also connects Far South communities to the city, providing more access to jobs.
Ruch said the work the expansion of the station will provide is essential to the city's economic recovery.
"When that work is completed there will no doubt be improved transit service and quality of life for our citizens," Rush said.
Plans of the CTA renewal projects come as a part of the a larger initiative called CREATE, Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program, a project to overhaul the Chicago-area multimodal transportation network, increase saftey, improve Amtrak, freight, and Metra efficiency, and support 3,000 jobs.
Quinn said the CREATE projects will strengthen the rail network and reduce traffic congestion and travel times.
“These CREATE projects will bolster Illinois’ position as a national transportation leader and boost our economy by creating more jobs,” Quinn said.
The projected cost of the 95th Street Terminal Improvement Project is $240 million. Work is expected to begin in 2014, after the Red Line South Track Renewal project is complete.
