Green Line impacts this weekend; Montrose Blue Line station work begins next week
The Chicago Transit Authority is notifying customers of upcoming events requiring temporary changes to service due to construction projects on the Green and Blue lines.
Customers are advised to allow extra travel time.
Green Line Laramie to Harlem/Lake Impacts
Green Line service will only operate between Cottage Grove-Ashland/63rd and Laramie beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, April 22 until 4 a.m. Monday, April 25, due to work associated with the Green Line West Track Renewal project.
During this time, Green Line trains will not serve the Central, Austin, Ridgeland, Oak Park or Harlem/Lake stations. CTA will operate free shuttle buses that will serve the affected stations.
Similar project work is currently scheduled to occur over four additional weekends with the project reaching substantial completion in June 2016.
CTA recommends that customers allow extra travel time during weekends when work occurs.
The Green Line West Track Renewal project is one of the biggest transit investments on Chicago’s West Side in the past 20 years and will replace rails and ties and make other track improvements to provide smoother, more reliable rides and prevent imminent slow zones from developing in the area.
For more information, visit transitchicago.com/greenwest.
Montrose Blue Line partial station closure
Montrose Blue Line station improvements begin at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, requiring a three-week temporary closure of half of the station platform in each direction. During these partial platform closures, trains that normally serve the closed portion of the platform will bypass the station, requiring customers to “back-ride” – which entails traveling one stop beyond Montrose and transferring to a train operating in the opposite direction to exit at Montrose.
Partial platform closures at Montrose are scheduled for the following dates:
- O’Hare-bound side closed, trains bypass station: April 26-May 17
- Forest Park-bound side closed, trains bypass station: May 17-June 7
During these partial platform closures, customers who use the Montrose Blue Line station may want to consider using the adjacent Irving Park or Jefferson Park stations where trains will stop in both directions at all times. Customers can also use the #56 Milwaukee, #80 Irving Park and #81 Lawrence buses to connect to these stations.
As an alternative, the #80, #81, or #78 Montrose buses connect to the Brown Line or Red Line farther east for trips to downtown. North-south buses in the area connect to the Blue Line, such as the #53 Pulaski or #54A North Cicero/Skokie Blvd. (rush periods only) connecting to Irving Park station, or the #56 Milwaukee to Jefferson Park or Logan Square stations, or all the way downtown. The Metra Milwaukee District West Line service to downtown is also available at Mayfair station.
In December 2013, the CTA and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Your New Blue, the largest service improvement project on the Blue Line since it was extended to O’Hare Airport in 1984. For more information on the Your New Blue project, please visit: http://www.transitchicago.com/yournewblue/.
With the exception of customers who use the Montrose station, Blue Line riders will see little to no impact to service.
Next Week: Temporary weekend closure of Montrose Blue Line station
The Montrose Blue Line station will be temporarily closed beginning Friday, April 29 at 10 p.m. until Monday, May 2 at 4 a.m. During this time, Blue Line trains traveling in both directions will bypass the Montrose station.
Free shuttle bus service will be provided between the Montrose and Irving Park Blue Line stations throughout the temporarily closure. O’Hare and Forest Park-bound customers at Montrose can access Blue Line trains by taking the free shuttle buses to the Irving Park station. Blue Line customers traveling to the Montrose station will need to exit at Irving Park and then transfer to the free bus shuttle.
The temporary weekend closure is the first of two weekend-only closures planned for the Montrose station as part of Your New Blue station work.
Stay in the Loop on CTA service
Plan your trip using the Google Transit Trip Planner. Be sure to also check out CTA on Facebook or Twitter (@CTA) for system travel updates and alerts. For details about all CTA service, call 312-836-7000 or visit the CTA website at transitchicago.com.
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