CTA to build new rail station near Chicago's United Center

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Dorval Carter Jr. late last week announced plans for a new Green Line rail station near the city's United Center sports arena.

The new station is aimed at better serving the growing business corridor and residential neighborhood on Chicago's Near West side by filling a 1.5-mile gap between existing Green Line stations, CTA officials said in a press release.

The agency will work with the Chicago Department of Transportation, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development and community stakeholders to carry out the project.

Design and engineering work is expected to begin in summer, with construction slated to begin in third-quarter 2018. The project is expected to take two years to complete, CTA officials said.

Funding will be provided by the Kinzie Industrial Corridor Tax Increment Financing District, they added.

Similar "in-fill" stations — that is, those built between existing stations — were built at Morgan Street on the Green and Pink lines in 2012, as well as at Cermak Road on the Green Line in 2015.

"As we've see many times, investment in new and improved CTA stations pays great dividends for communities across the city," Carter said. "Providing a convenient, affordable transportation option makes it easy for people to get to and from work, school and their other destinations. And new stations have been shown to promote private investment in the surrounding area."

For example, in the first year after the Morgan Street station opened in 2012, the number of business licenses and construction permits issued doubled, according to the CTA.

The United Center is home to the Chicago Bulls NBA team and the Chicago Blackhawks NHL team.