CHICAGO (WLS) -- A groundbreaking ceremony for the Red Line Modernization Project, from Lawrence to Bryn Mawr, took place Wednesday morning in Edgewater.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Sen. Dick Durbin, Rep. Mike Quigley and other leaders marked the reconstruction of four Red Line stations and tracks on the CTA's busiest rail line at 11:30 a.m.
"The CTA is what ties our city together and has long connected our residents to jobs, education and opportunity," Lightfoot said. "Thanks to today's groundbreaking, which is an important step forward in our mission to modernize the Red Line with the largest project in CTA history, we are able to enhance those positive impacts even more."
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Those stations are 100-years-old.
"CTA customers will see a significant improvement in service with increased accessibility to rail service, less crowding on trains and rail platforms and shorter commute times," CTA President Dorval Carter said. "The benefits of this project extend beyond riders of the Red Line to Chicago's neighborhoods and small businesses across the city through training, job and contract opportunities that will be a model for future CTA projects like the Red Line Extension."
RELATED: Officials break ground on CTA Red, Purple Modernization Project
The new ones will be modern, larger and fully accessible, with elevators, escalators and wider platforms. They are scheduled to open in 2024, and are part of the CTA's $2.1 billion Red and Purple Modernization Phase One Project.
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CTA will rebuild the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr stations and the century-old track structure between the four stations to provide a smoother, more comfortable and more reliable ride for customers across the entire transit system, city leaders said.