CTA breaks ground on new station near McCormick Place

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and city officials yesterday marked the start of construction on a new Cermak Green Line station near the McCormick Place convention center.

The $50 million project is part of $92 million in planned transportation investments on Chicago's near south side. Other projects include rehabilitation of the Roosevelt and Harrison stations on the Red Line, and the 18th Street Connector, CTA officials said.

"We are making a comprehensive investment in the CTA, and this investment includes building a new station to serve McCormick Place and the surrounding area," said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a prepared statement.

The station will make transit services more convenient and support other economic development under way in the area, said CTA President Forrest Claypool.

The facility will be built near the intersection of Cermak Avenue and State Street, directly west of the convention center. It will be the first station at the location since 1977, and will fill a "major gap" in CTA service in the area since a previous station near McCormick Place was demolished years ago, agency officials said.

Managed by the Chicago Department of Transportation, the project is slated for completion by 2014's end.