CTA Brown Line Kimball Station to Reopen Tomorrow
The Kimball station on the Brown Line will reopen to rail service at 4 a.m. on Friday, January 12. The station has been temporarily closed since September 2006 as part of the capacity expansion project on the Brown Line. The station will reopen for service, however, construction work at the station will continue.
A major portion of the reconstruction has been completed at Kimball including brighter lighting, installation of heaters and windbreaks, new benches and an information kiosk.
Construction crews will continue to work in the weeks ahead to complete construction even after the station opens for service. Additional work includes installing permanent station signs, security cameras, original artwork, windows, canopies and continuing work to complete the extension of the platform.
Kimball is the third newly renovated station to reopen as part of the Brown Line capacity expansion project. Francisco station, which also closed with Kimball on September 15, will reopen for service in March. In August 2006, the Kedzie and Rockwell stations reopened for service following a six-month temporary closure.
Over the course of the project, nine other stations on the line are also subject to temporary closure at different points during construction. Work will be scheduled so that no two consecutive stations are closed at the same time on weekdays. Temporary closures are necessary in order to have the type of access needed to extend platforms, make stations accessible, stay within budget and keep the project on schedule.
As the project continues to move forward, CTA remains committed to staying within the budget and meeting the completion dates required. The project's Full Funding Grant Agreement with the federal government requires that the CTA complete the project by the end of 2009.
The Brown Line capacity expansion project includes: the rehabilitation of 18 Brown Line stations; lengthening station platforms to accommodate eight rather than six-car trains; provide for station enhancements to meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and upgrade or replace traction power, signal and communication equipment.
Operating between downtown and the Northwest Side, the Brown Line was originally constructed in two phases, opening for service in 1900 and 1907. The line is the third busiest of CTA's rail lines, serving more than 66,000 customers each weekday, with 19 stations from Kimball on the north to the downtown Chicago Loop.
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