Belmont station on CTA Blue Line getting major upgrade

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the CTA announced Monday a major upgrade coming to the Belmont Station on the CTA's Blue Line.

The large canopy is expected to be the highlight of the project, bringing unique architecture to the area. The project will have a new street-level entrance to the Belmont subway station, improve the bus arrival/departure areas, and be more pedestrian-friendly.

It's called the gateway project, bringing architectural enhancements to the CTA, while modernizing the system.

"Projects like this bring notable architecture and design that celebrates and complements the character of our communities, enhance our neighborhoods and bring economic and cultural opportunities to residents and businesses," said Mayor Emanuel.

The Belmont Blue Line station and bus terminal provides access to the Blue Line and the #77 Belmont and #82 Kimball/Homan bus routes. The station provided nearly 1.8 million train rides in 2015.

"As we have done with recent projects like the 95th Street Terminal and the Cermak-McCormick Place station, our goal is create an efficient, attractive environment for our customers while also incorporating modern, innovative designs," said CTA President Carter. "These improvements go hand in hand with the improvements to rail and bus service that we are making across our transit system to better serve our customers."

The project is still in the development phase and is expected to cost up to $15 million. The CTA expects to begin work on the upgrades in 2017.