CTA finishes $50 million rehab of Red Line station

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Dorval Carter yesterday joined local officials to mark the completion of a major renovation project to the Clark/Division Red Line station.

The $50 million construction project added a new entrance and fully modernized the station, CTA officials said in a news release.

The work was completed in two stages, the first of which was completed in summer 2014, when the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) built a new 8,800-square-foot mezzanine at LaSalle Street.

That increased the entering and exiting capacity of the station by adding stairs, fare turnstiles, elevators and escalators. Previously, the station had no elevators.

In the project’s second stage, crews worked to modernize the entrances and the mezzanine at Clark Street.

"This investment will make life easier for the thousands of Chicagoans who get on or off the Red Line and Clark and Division, but this is about more than just a CTA station," said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "Investments like this, and other major infrastructure projects we have undertaken throughout Chicago, allow our economy to grow, our neighborhoods to thrive, and our city to flourish."

The station now features new granite floors and stairs; brighter and more energy-efficient lighting; new security equipment and customer assistance kiosks; and new cast iron street-level entrances and protective canopies, CTA officials said.

CDOT managed the construction project on behalf of the CTA. The project received some financial backing from the Federal Transit Administration's Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement funds.

The Clark/Division Station was the CTA's 16th-busiest rail station last year, CTA officials said.