06/30/00
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, Chicago Transit Authority President Frank Kruesi and Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Judith Rice officially opened the Red Line State Street subway entrance at Jackson/Van Buren. The renovation work was completed by CDOT as part of their State Street Subway Renovation Project. The $6.5 million renovation project includes a new larger mezzanine featuring a mosaic cityscape wall scene, granite flooring and an ADA accessible elevator. This re-opened station will serve as a gateway for CTA customers traveling downtown.
Visitors to the Taste of Chicago Festival in Grant Park Friday, June 30, through Sunday, July 9, will find CTA service the most effective way to travel. Longer 'L' trains will operate into the Loop until late every evening, and extra buses will be available toward the close of each evening's activities to carry riders home.
More extensive service will be available on Monday evening, July 3, for spectators attending the fireworks display in Grant Park. All customers heading for Taste and the fireworks are encouraged to purchase Transit Cards in advance that have sufficient value for round trips so they can speed their trips in and out of the downtown area.
Highlights of extra service are as follows:
Taste of Chicago (June 30 - July 9):
Rail Service
Longer trains will operate until late each evening on the Blue, Brown, Green, Orange and Red Lines.
Brown Line trains will serve the Loop until midnight on weeknights, and until 10 p.m. on weekends and July 4.
Yellow Line trains will operate until 11 p.m. on weekends and July 4, and until 11:30 p.m. on weeknights between Dempster/Skokie and Howard.
Additional Customer Assistants will be on duty at Loop stations to help riders with the automated fare collection system and travel information.
Travel assistance will also be offered at a mobile CTA information facility on Jackson just east of Michigan, where Transit Cards will be sold at vending machines.
Bus Service
All buses that regularly use Columbus Drive north of Roosevelt will be detoured to Michigan between Balbo and Roosevelt throughout the Taste of Chicago.
As Taste activities wind down each evening, extra buses will await riders for trips away from the downtown area at the following locations:
#3 King Drive and #4 Cottage Grove buses southbound on Michigan at Jackson.
#6 Jeffery Express buses, which now operate from downtown until 12:30 a.m. nightly, and #62 Archer buses will be staged southbound on State from Lake.
#20 Madison and #56 Milwaukee buses will await riders on Madison at State.
#60 Blue Island/26th and #126 Jackson buses will wait on Adams at State.
#151 Sheridan buses will be staged northbound on State at Congress.
Buses on all routes except the #6 Jeffery Express and #126 Jackson areaccessible to customers with disabilities.
Fireworks in Grant Park Monday, July 3
Rail Service
Blue Line: Longer trains and more frequent service from O'Hare, Forest Park and 54th/Cermak.
Red Line: Longer trains and more frequent service from both 95th and Howard.
Green Line: Longer trains and more frequent service from Harlem, East 63rd and Ashland.
Orange Line: Longer trains, more frequent and later (until 1:30 a.m.) service from the Loop.
Brown Line: Longer trains, more frequent and later (until 1 a.m.) service from the Loop.
Yellow Line: More frequent and later (until 1 a.m.) service from Howard.
Purple Line: Longer trains as needed.
Bus Service
#124 Navy Pier Express buses will serve Navy Pier directly from Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center (North Western Station) from 3 p.m. to midnight.
After the fireworks, extra buses will be staged at Navy Pier on the four routes that regularly serve the pier; #29 State, #56 Milwaukee, #65 Grand and #66 Chicago.
Michigan Avenue and State Street will be closed to traffic downtown at about 7:30 p.m., and buses using these streets will be detoured to Clark and Dearborn.
#3 King Drive and #4 Cottage Grove buses will be staged southbound on Michigan at Van Buren.
#6 Jeffery Express, #29 State, and #62 Archer buses will be available for service southbound on Clark from Wacker to Van Buren.
#12 Roosevelt buses will start trips west on Roosevelt from Michigan.
#20 Madison and #56 Milwaukee buses will await riders on Madison at State.
#60 Blue Island/26th and #126 Jackson buses will be on Adams at State.
#22 Clark, #36 Broadway, #146 Marine/Michigan and #151 Sheridan buses will enter service northbound on Dearborn from Van Buren.
For more information, customers may call the RTA Travel Center at 836-7000 from all area codes.
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