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CNJRoss
Jun 5 2012, 10:58 AM
Chicagoist.com, 6/4:
QUOTE

Prepare For Delays: South Branch Of Red Line Will Shut Down For Five Months In 2013

If you live on the South side and rely on the Red Line for transit, today's announcement by the Chicago Transit Authority that the entire South branch of the Red Line—from Cermak/Chinatown all the way to 95th Street—will be shut down for five months next year so a complete overhaul of the line can be completed will leave you shaking your head in either frustration or apathy.

CTA spokesman Brian Steele admitted this decision will "obviously create significant impacts for commuters." . . .

Given that 50,000 people on the South side rely on the Red Line to get them where they're going on a daily basis, . . .

Continue.
CNJRoss
Jun 5 2012, 11:06 AM
Chicago Tribune,
QUOTE

Red Line repairs on fast track
9 South Side stations will be closed for 5 months

In deciding to close the south leg of the Red Line for five months starting next May, CTA officials bet that short, intense pain will be easier to suffer through than several years of track construction migraines.

South Side aldermen — previously briefed on the merits of speeding repairs with a complete shutdown of the Dan Ryan branch rather than a weekends-only one that would stretch over four years — came out in support of the "rip-off-the-Band-Aid" approach.

But Mayor Rahm Emanuel stayed conspicuously away from the news conference Monday where transit officials announced the $425 million project, which will close almost 10 miles of track and nine stations, from the Cermak-Chinatown stop all the way to 95th Street.

Continue.
CNJRoss
Jun 5 2012, 11:11 AM
RedEyeChicago.com, 6/4:
QUOTE

Here comes the Red ache

'13 is bound to be an unlucky number for many South Side Red Line riders.

The CTA announced Monday that it will shut down the Red Line from the Cermak-Chinatown station to the 95th Street stop for five months, starting in May 2013. The agency will reconstruct the corresponding 43-year-old track and make the Garfield, 63rd Street and 87th Street stations accessible for riders with disabilities.

In the interim, the 50,000 riders who use the South Side Red Line each weekday will be relegated to shuttle buses and/or the Green Line, which runs parallel to the Red Line about a half-mile or more away.

The CTA said it chose to close the southern portion of the Red Line for five months instead of working on the project piecemeal over four years. The shutdown is expected to save $75 million, the CTA said.

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CNJRoss
Jun 5 2012, 11:18 AM
Chicago.SBNation.com, 6/4:
QUOTE

The Red Line Will Be Closed To U.S. Cellular Field For 5 Months Next Season

The Chicago White Sox's attendance problems have been well-documented this season. While the South Siders have turned into the hottest team in baseball over the last two weeks, they're still having trouble filling the stadium.

This is nothing new on the South Side. Attendance has become a yearly issue for the White Sox, especially when the team isn't in contention. . . .

The Sox's attendance woes took an unforeseen hit on Monday when the Tribune reported the red line will be closing South Side service for five months starting in the spring of 2013.

Continue.
KevinKorell
Jun 5 2012, 11:56 AM
It's similar to the FastTrack stuff they are now doing on the NYC subways. Much easier to get the work done all at once rather than doing it on weekends only, which means getting the line back in working order by every Monday morning and then going back into construction mode after the line closes on Fridays.

It appears that the CTA Red Line will revert to its old routing before the lines were swapped and then given color names. Trains did once run from Howard to 63rd/Ashland, while what is now the Lake (western) end of the Green Line ran to the Dan Ryan/95th station.

As mentioned in the articles above, biggest impact wlll be to the games at US Cellular Field. But while the Red Line is closest, the stadium also is walking distance from the Green Line and the Rock Island Metra line. Again with the Red Line running on Green Line tracks on the south side, it will just be a longer walk to get to & from the stadium.

There's probably not much that can be done about it, but I'd like to see some noise mitigation at the stations in the center of the Dan Ryan Expressway. People should not be going deaf just from innocently waiting for trains.
KevinKorell
Jun 17 2012, 02:15 PM
Not so fast! From Chicago, IL Tribune, 6/11/12:
QUOTE
CTA needs to reconsider commuters in plan to shut part of Red Line for 5 months
Transit agency says drastic closure plan is only a first draft

A bearable, even decent commute is still possible for CTA Red Line riders from the South Side and south suburbs who received unwelcome news last week that the entire Dan Ryan branch will be closed for five months next year for track renovations.

Read more here.
CNJRoss
Jun 24 2012, 08:17 PM
WBBM Radio, Chicago, 6/18:
QUOTE

Commuters Give CTA Earful About South Red Line Closure

CHICAGO (CBS) — About 50 people filed into the South Shore Cultural Center Monday to sound off on the Chicago Transit Authority’s plan to shut down the south branch of the Red Line for five months next spring.

Commuter Wallace Bradley said the plan disenfranchises African Americans who rely on the South Side train service.

“We’re talking about people who take public transportation every day,” he said

Continue w/audio report link.
KevinKorell
Jul 7 2012, 01:20 PM
Chicago, IL Sun-Times, 6/25/12:

QUOTE
Emanuel promises Red Line work will include black contractors, workers

Black contractors and employees will help rebuild both the south leg of the CTA’s Red Line and the 95th Street Station, Mayor Rahm Emanuel vowed Monday, determined to avoid a Metra-style controversy.
Here's that story.

A classic case of EEO vs. discrimination, and this clearly wreaks of the latter... not to mention the Mayor trying to earn points with minority groups for re-election. Certainly anyone should be capable of doing the trackwork or driving the substitute shuttle buses.
CNJRoss
Apr 3 2013, 06:18 AM
RedEye Chicago, 3/31:
QUOTE

Will Red Line shutdown rattle Sox fans?

Starting next month, White Sox fans can look forward to a new lineup: Green Line, Metra, buses or driving. The southern section of the Red Line no longer will be part of a Sox fan's rotation.

The CTA is scheduled to shut down the Red Line from Cermak-Chinatown to 95th Street, including the Sox-35th stop on May 19, affecting 62 of the Sox's 81 home games.

The day after the start of the shutdown, May 20, the Sox host Boston. A week later, on May 27 and 28, the Sox will host the Cubs in a crosstown clash that used to be the battle of the Red Line. Now it could be a battle for fans to get to U.S. Cellular Field via public transportation.

Continue.
KevinKorell
May 3 2013, 12:32 PM
Progressive Railroading, 5/3/13:
QUOTE
CTA unveils online trip planner during Red Line South reconstruction

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has launched an online trip planner that enables riders to explore their travel options now in preparation for the upcoming Red Line South reconstruction project.


For this story click here.
KevinKorell
May 18 2013, 04:38 PM
Chicago, IL Tribune, 5/18/13:
QUOTE
CTA Red Line Dan Ryan closure starts early Sunday

CTA Red Line riders who use the south leg of the north-south “L” line will have to find alternate transportation starting 2 a.m. Sunday.

The line will be closed for five months south of the Roosevelt Road station for a $425 million track replacement project on the Dan Ryan branch of the line.

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KevinKorell
May 18 2013, 04:41 PM
Chicago, IL Tribune, 5/15/13:
QUOTE
Transit agencies look to keep South Side moving during CTA work

The time for campaigning is about to end. Now the hard work — delivering on promises made to 80,000 daily CTA Red Line customers who will lose a vital transportation lifeline for five months — is set to begin Sunday.


Continue
KevinKorell
May 18 2013, 04:46 PM
Chicago, IL Tribune, 5/10/13:
QUOTE
Red Line going offline during reconstruction

The CTA Dan Ryan Line was state-of-the-art when it opened in 1969 on Chicago's South Side.

Today, almost 44 years later, service has become feeble. About 40 percent of the Red Line south branch is mired in slow zones because of severe track deterioration, and the decay is getting worse by the day, transit officials said.

Proceed
KevinKorell
May 18 2013, 11:45 PM
CTA has published a temporary system map showing the rerouted Red Line as well as changes to the Green Line, and the express buses that will connect closed Red Line stations to trains on the Green Line & rerouted Red Line.
http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/map..._-_Web_Dark.pdf
KevinKorell
May 19 2013, 06:19 AM
Chicago, IL Sun-Times, 5/19/13:
QUOTE
CTA chief: Red Line inconvenience will produce ‘absolute best’ railroad

Shortly before the kickoff of the Red Line South reconstruction, CTA President Forrest Claypool talked with Sun-Times Transportation Reporter Rosalind Rossi about a project that Claypool says will give the South Side “the absolute best” railroad in the region.

Interview here.
KevinKorell
May 19 2013, 06:26 AM
Chicago, IL Sun-Times, 5/18/13:
QUOTE
Red Line’s ‘big fix’ starts Sunday with promise of faster commute

The “big fix’’ of the Red Line South kicks off Sunday, disrupting the commutes of more than 80,000 South Side weekday L riders.

Will the five-month, total shutdown — from Cermak to 95th Street — be painful?
Find out here.
KevinKorell
May 19 2013, 04:19 PM
Chicago, IL Tribune, 5/19/13:
QUOTE
Red Line construction project gets started

Hours into a Red Line construction project that promises to snarl commutes for months, the southbound train steered away from the Dan Ryan Expressway on Sunday morning and instead traveled down the Green Line tracks.
More
KevinKorell
May 20 2013, 12:49 PM
Chicago, IL Tribune, 5/20/13:
QUOTE
'So far, so good' on first weekday of Red Line shutdown

Tens of thousands of South Side commuters tested out new routes to work this morning on the first weekday with the Red Line's Dan Ryan branch closed for repairs.


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KevinKorell
May 22 2013, 08:42 PM
Chicago, IL Tribune, 5/21/13:
QUOTE
Red Line rehab poses political challenge for Emanuel

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday lauded Chicago Transit Authority workers for their "flawless" rollout of a five-month Red Line reconstruction that has shuttle buses replacing train service.
This is the story.
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