CTA Wilson Station reconstruction project completed

CHICAGO (WLS) -- After years of construction, the Red Line Wilson Station reconstruction project is finished.

Work began in 2014 on the nearly 100-year-old station. Improvements include elevators, making it fully accessible, and a transfer point for Red and Purple line riders. The historic Gerber building underneath the station was also restored as part of the $203-million project. Nearly two million riders go through the Uptown station each year.

"The Wilson Station Reconstruction Project will create better service for CTA customers and greater economic opportunities for the Uptown community," Mayor Emanuel said. "In neighborhoods across the city, we are reconstructing the CTA with unprecedented investments and reshaping it to meet the needs of a world-class transit system."

"The new Wilson station will provide an improved commuting experience for the more than 1.7 million people who use the station each year, and is an example of what our upcoming Red and Purple Modernization Program will do for other stations along the Red Line," CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said. "We thank the Uptown community for their support of this project and for their patience during construction, and we look forward to serving local residents and visitors in and to this vibrant neighborhood."

In other commuter news, the new Romeoville station on Metra's Heritage Corridor Line is now open. It's the first new stop on the Heritage Line since 1984. The first train pulled into the station at 5:54 a.m. during the week there will be three morning and four afternoon rush hours trains stopping at that station.

And the CTA has just launched a new program of track repairs to speed up your commute by up to six minutes. The FastTracks program will repair and upgrade rails, rail ties and electrical power on the Red, Blue, Brown and Green lines over the next few years.

The first phase of FastTracks will include track repairs on the Green Line south of 35th Street. The $179-million program is funded through a fee charged to app-based ride-hailing companies in Chicago.