Blue Line renovations to close 2 stations

CHICAGO (WLS) -- North branch commuters on the Blue Line can expect a couple extended station closures later this year as part of major renovations.

Two Blue Line stations will receive major renovations and a third will receive upgrades starting in early September, as part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's $492 million Your New Blue modernization program for the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line, the mayor's office said.

The CTA will announce the schedule to complete major upgrades at the California and Damen Blue Line stations, which will require that each station close. The California Blue Line station will be the first to be rehabilitated, and will close for construction work on Thursday, Sept. 4, and will reopen six weeks later on Oct. 16, the mayor's office said.

"There's enough buses that go downtown, I think I'll figure it out. I'm just excited that the station is going to get redone," said Lauren Lomonte, a CTA patron.

The Damen station will close for major improvement work on Oct. 20, after California is reopened. The Damen station will reopen Dec. 22, the mayor's office said.

"For improvements I can say it's alright. We need something new around here. Sure, I guess I could be okay with that," said Christopher Calix, a CTA patron.

"When it looks nicer it'll be nicer to come here in the mornings," said John Rungger, a CTA patron.

Both stations will get extensive stationhouse and platform upgrades. A third station, Western, which requires less extensive repairs, will remain open while it receives upgrades this fall.

The California, Damen and Western stations were all built in the late 1800s and are among the oldest on the CTA system, the mayor's office said. The Western station underwent a major renovation in 2001, the CTA said.

The CTA will add additional #56 Milwaukee bus service during weekday morning and evening rush periods, and add "owl" service during the overnight hours to link the closest stations in either direction of the shuttered station, the transit agency said.

In addition, Divvy, a program of the Chicago Department of Transportation, is Chicago's bike sharing system and may be an alternative for customers during this period, the CTA suggests in a news release. There are Divvy stations located near California, including California-Milwaukee and Rockwell-Milwaukee; and Damen, including Milwaukee-Wabansia, Damen-Pierce and Leavitt-North, the release said. For more Divvy information and locations, visit https://www.divvybikes.com.

Temporary street and alley closures and parking restrictions that are necessary to complete construction work will be announced closer to the project start date.

Artist Renderings of Completed Construction at California station

More than 80,000 customers each weekday use stations along the O'Hare branch, which had 25 million rides last year, the CTA said. The Your New Blue project will update a total of 13 Blue Line stations.