Western Brown Line Construction Will Continue Into Next Year

LINCOLN SQUARE — While renovation of the Western Brown Line stop and bus turnaround will continue into next year, much of the exterior work is complete, officials said.

CTA officials spoke at a virtual meeting Monday, offering the public an update on the nearly $20 million renovation of the public transit hub in the heart of Lincoln Square. The project was announced in 2022 , featuring improvements requested by neighbors .

Currently, the Brown Line is not stopping at the Western Avenue station going inbound to the city so that those tracks can be worked on. This construction should be finished next month, officials said.

The next phase of construction that will continue into 2025 will include replacing elevator cabs as well as stair treads and risers; repairing and replacing masonry and glass; upgraded lighting and signs to LED; refinishing concrete floors and adding American Disability Act-compliant entrances and new bike racks, among other improvements, said Steve Mascheri, CTA vice president of capital construction.

Elevator cabs will be replaced one at a time so people can continue to use a cab to access the platform, Mascheri said.

Construction at the station should be complete by the end of 2025, he said.

A New Eastern Entryway

When construction is complete, commuters will be able to enter and exit the station from the east, Mascheri said. Currently, there is an exit on the eastern side of the station, but there is not an entrance.

Temporary plywood walls will be set up to allow commuters access to the station while crews are working, Mascheri said.

The masonry work will be done in the spring; crews will also replace the nets and spikes used to try to keep pigeons from nesting at the station, he said.

The segment of the Berlin Wall on display at the station will remain in place, but the rehabilitated interior will feature new accent lighting that highlights the artifact, Mascheri said.

During Monday’s meeting, neighbors asked if the Dunkin’ Donuts and customer assistance booth would be moved to make the station’s foot traffic flow better. Outside of renovating the existing structures, moving them wasn’t part of the plan, CTA officials said.

“Part of the balance we’re trying to find is trying to maximize dollars here. If we start moving some infrastructure around, that includes plumbing and some other electrical. Those costs, it gets really expensive really quick,” Mascheri said.

Additional improvements include replacing the metal decking canopy with a polycarbonate material similar to what is found at the Jefferson Park Blue Line stop.

“We feel this material is durable, easily maintainable and also provides the ability to have a lit, airy surface to the station,” Mascheri said.

After the north side of the station’s masonry is replaced, the CTA will seek out an artist to design something for that section of the two-story station, he said.

Bus Island Changes

As for the bus turnaround, crews will install ADA-compliant sidewalks and ramps, convert it from two bus islands to one and add polycarbonate material as a canopy, Mascheri said.

“We believe [one bus island] can accommodate all of our bus traffic. We’re gonna be adding in some foliage at the south end of the bus terminal. That was a comment that we heard last time, that we kind of soften the campus environment there,” he said.

During spring construction of the bus terminal, CTA service will be rerouted to within about a block of the station, Mascheri said.

Signs will be posted to help travelers figure out where they need to go to catch their buses during construction, he said.

“We’re also expecting to have some traffic impacts on Western. We appreciate everyone’s patience, and we’ll do our best to minimize that,” Mascheri said.

The rail line was built in 1907, and the stop’s bus turnaround was added in 1949, officials said. The current station house was built in 1980, and the last major upgrade to the stop was in 2009, when the CTA modified the platforms to accommodate eight-car trains, officials said.

The Western Brown Line station provided nearly 700,000 rides last year.

Construction began over the summer . Over the past few months, crews have cleaned off old paint from the station and tracks between Western Avenue and Lincoln Avenue, Mascheri said.

After removing rusted and worn-out components, crews applied a coat of protective paint to extend the life of the station, he said.

“Not only have we painted the portions of the structure that you can see, we’ve kind of gotten to every kind of little crevice and beam that you can get to. Because not only does it provide a better aesthetic, it also provides a life extension to this,” Mascheri said.

Construction for the station’s outbound platform on the north side of the station is complete, and crews are now working on the inbound platform on the south side of the station, Mascheri said.

“We remove the concrete edge, replaced it and then put in the new tactile strip on the the edge,” he said.

During this portion of construction, commuters will have to “back ride” at the Western stop, which allows crews to work on one side of the platform at a time. This construction should be done by the middle of November, Mascheri said.

“Similar with the track structure, we’ve painted everything, tip to tail. Handrails, beams and all the little purlins that hold up the light fixtures as well. We’re expecting to have that work done toward the end of next month,” he said.

The painting should be complete in the next few weeks and, depending on weather, the next phase of construction could begin over the winter and continue into spring, he said.

“There’ll be occasional parking impacts on Western Avenue. I know there’s a lot of work happening there, so again, we appreciate your patience,” Mascheri said.

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