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Your New Blue - O'Hare Branch Rehab


BusHunter

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I thought I might have heard one of the networks say they would be beefing up the #56, including adding owl service. Now this I have to see. LOL!!

Just for two stations one at a time for six week stretches almost back to back? They're really going overboard with the rumor mill. I'm surprised the news would even report that if you did hear that right

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I thought I might have heard one of the networks say they would be beefing up the #56, including adding owl service. Now this I have to see. LOL!!

Just for two stations one at a time for six week stretches almost back to back? They're really going overboard with the rumor mill. I'm surprised the news would even report that if you did hear that right

Several news sources I saw said that. The CTA Press Release also so says:

To assist customers affected by station closures, the CTA will add additional #56 Milwaukee bus service during weekday morning and evening rush periods, and add “owl” service during the overnight hours to link the closest stations in either direction of the shuttered station.

The freaky thing, IMO, is that the release also has a plug for Divvy. Maybe Emanuel is trying to make it the predominant means of transportation in Chicago.

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Divvy has a bike station right there at California/Milwaukee and also one at Logan Sq. Emanuel probably wishes customers would ride a bike, but I have observed myself up to 20 bike riders pulling out from a light around Damen/Milwaukee. It almost doesn't seem safe to drive there as some ride right down the middle of the street or pull out into the street passing other riders. It's like the Tour De France down there Lol!! We're probably going to hear about something happening there soon. It's like that light after light in the rush. The lowest count I counted in four lights were 13 riders. I don't remember it being like that before. How do you drive a bus with all of those bikes?

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Spotted about 6 people from CTA or a contractor wearing vests at the Addison/Blue line last week. They had clipboards and tape measures with them and it appeared to be some type of meeting focused around the mezzanine stairs like they were getting ready to plan something for the upgrade of that station soon. They were all office workers, they had white shirts and it was men and women mixed. I believe they had hard hats. I wonder if they do close that station and they will probably have to cause it only has one entrance, what would be the transit alternatives there. Would it be feasible for the #152 to detour via Avondale to Pulaski or run a quick trip down Kimball to Belmont and turn around in the station and come back, run a shuttle bus or nothing at all.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Oh boy!!! Station work finally begins tomorrow with the California/Milwaukee rehab! :D :D :D

R.I.P Old California Station (1895-2014).

Yeah i passed by and took a nostalgic walk through the station. At 8PM they already had construction workers in hard hats on the platform sitting on the benches, maybe waiting for a briefing. I think I remember in the early 2000's they had two staircases that met in the middle on each platform, like Western is today, but they took one out and renewed the stairs. Kiewit cleaned out one of there construction equipment sites on the south side of milwaukee, but the north one still exists. The slow zones are all just about gone but there still seem to be a small one sb from Cali. I thought I read it's closing tonight 1:00 AM. They have signs reminding everyone they can't park their bikes on the street after 9/4 probably cause there going to close that all off. There are supposed to renew the concrete entrance area as well.

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Yeah i passed by and took a nostalgic walk through the station. At 8PM they already had construction workers in hard hats on the platform sitting on the benches, maybe waiting for a briefing. I think I remember in the early 2000's they had two staircases that met in the middle on each platform, like Western is today, but they took one out and renewed the stairs. Kiewit cleaned out one of there construction equipment sites on the south side of milwaukee, but the north one still exists. The slow zones are all just about gone but there still seem to be a small one sb from Cali. I thought I read it's closing tonight 1:00 AM. They have signs reminding everyone they can't park their bikes on the street after 9/4 probably cause there going to close that all off. There are supposed to renew the concrete entrance area as well.

I was there yesterday morning before I went to class. I did see about 3-4 construction workers. BTW, did you know that in the early 90s, this station used stairs from another station?

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I was there yesterday morning before I went to class. I did see about 3-4 construction workers. BTW, did you know that in the early 90s, this station used stairs from another station?

No, which one? I know they said part of that station is the original station, the canopies, railings around the stairs. But the stairs themselves have changed over the years, the walkway was enclosed to go to the stationhouse, just like Western. The platform itself originally was shorter to only support 4 cars, I believe back in the days of 1895 - 1951 all elevated Logan Square branch service.

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No, which one? I know they said part of that station is the original station, the canopies, railings around the stairs. But the stairs themselves have changed over the years, the walkway was enclosed to go to the stationhouse, just like Western. The platform itself originally was shorter to only support 4 cars, I believe back in the days of 1895 - 1951 all elevated Logan Square branch service.

I read about it on chicago-l.org.'s profile of the station. It didn't specify which station that the stairs came from.

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The whole nb California platform has been stripped of lights, light poles, signage, roofing over the stairs. These guys are getting down to business. I guess the platform eventually will be stripped to the steel You got to hand it to CTA they really have boosted awareness of the closure. I forgot to mention the last weekend of the line cut on the friday before they had people passing out brochures on the damen platform of the closure. I was pleasantly surprised to see this.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The whole nb California platform has been stripped of lights, light poles, signage, roofing over the stairs. These guys are getting down to business. I guess the platform eventually will be stripped to the steel You got to hand it to CTA they really have boosted awareness of the closure. I forgot to mention the last weekend of the line cut on the friday before they had people passing out brochures on the damen platform of the closure. I was pleasantly surprised to see this.

I'll hand it to the CTA, with these recent infrastructure projects, they have really been doing a lot of ground work to inform customers service changes that could affect their commute.

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I'll hand it to the CTA, with these recent infrastructure projects, they have really been doing a lot of ground work to inform customers service changes that could affect their commute.

Well, the massively overstaffed PR department has to eventually do some work. I assume most of them owe their jobs to Mike Madigan & election time is here.

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They are really stripping the heck out of this California platform. They have the platform down to the steel, yesterday even removing the canopies. Here's video I took on the 14th, there is even less of the station now. The gray footings at the ends of the platform I believe are new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yu7wNAE9xY&feature=youtu.be

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They are really stripping the heck out of this California platform. They have the platform down to the steel, yesterday even removing the canopies. Here's video I took on the 14th, there is even less of the station now. The gray footings at the ends of the platform I believe are new.

That's to be expected, but whether they will use the same quick rot wood as they did on the Brown Line project to replace it is the other question. :o

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They were installing the wood beams yesterday over California street on the NB side, the wood has a green tint to it probably treated, I doubt they will use the same wood that failed before. They are kind of lucky California's footprint has open areas around the station for portable lights and metal scaffold stairs and such. Damen is so tight where is everything going to go?

I still don't get with such a massive reconstruction why they don't make the station accessible or made to be accessible in the future.

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...

I still don't get with such a massive reconstruction why they don't make the station accessible or made to be accessible in the future.

Between the ADA doesn't require all stations, the degree of modification to a station before the ADA kicks in,* as previously mentioned, land for the elevator towers, and probably Pat Quinn doesn't have enough personal money to complete the job.**

_________

* If anyone can figure it out, the regulation is 49 C.F.R. 37.43. Looks like it is required only if the cost of the accessibility improvements does not exceed 20% of the cost of the other improvements.

**Only partly facetious, as he claims that he creates jobs, not that he raised taxes to pay for the bonds.

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They are really stripping the heck out of this California platform. They have the platform down to the steel, yesterday even removing the canopies. Here's video I took on the 14th, there is even less of the station now. The gray footings at the ends of the platform I believe are new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yu7wNAE9xY&feature=youtu.be

I saw the station for the first time since it closed. It looked more empty than the city did when we had the Polar Vortex.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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