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CTA construction update: Red Line Extension demolition, caissons and station modernizations advance
Summary
CTA staff reported progress on the Red Line Extension demolition and deep foundation caisson work, described ongoing station modernization and elevator-rehab work (Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Racine, Austin, State/Lake), and discussed funding status and federal All Stations Accessibility Program applications.
Bill Mooney, CTA’s chief infrastructure officer, gave the committee a photo-heavy construction update that emphasized work on the Red Line Extension and the agency’s All Stations Accessibility program.
Mooney described advanced demolition on the Red Line Extension site and the installation of deep foundations (caissons) drilled as deep as 60–80 feet. "We have about a dozen drilled to date, and they are pouring the first of the piers right now," he said, describing the dewatering, remediation and foundation work required before building the elevated structure.
He reviewed specific station projects: Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr — red/purple modernizations that opened about a year ago — are complete; Racine’s Blue Line entrance recently opened and CTA expects to open the Loomis entrance later this fall; Austin on the Green Line is nearing commissioning of a new accessible entrance; State/Lake work includes utility relocations and an elevator that will make an elevated-to-subway connection accessible.
Mooney also described procurement and design phases for other projects (California Blue Line, Montrose elevator rehabs, Belmont, Irving Park, Pulaski, Oak Park and Ridgeland). He noted the agency had applied to the federal All Stations Accessibility Program for projects including North/Clybourn and is seeking reauthorization of that program to fund additional work.
Committee members asked for a clearer funding/phase graphic in future updates and discussed the pros and cons of solar panels on station roofs; Mooney said CTA typically includes spare conduits for future electrical needs and has piloted solar at larger facilities but that structural and exposure issues limit rooftop solar at some stations.
What happens next: CTA will include a funding/phase graphic in a future update, continue procurement for projects now out to bid, and report back as stations move from design to construction and into commissioning.
