One of the Chicago Transit Authority’s busiest El stops is set to get a major overhaul.
The facelift for the Red Line’s 95th Street station is projected to cost $240 million dollars. About two-thirds of that comes from federal funding, with the balance coming from a state grant and CTA bonds.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the upgrades will mean fewer delays and easier access for the 20,000 people who bustle through the station each weekday.
“You’ll see a system where kids don’t have to run between buses and lines where people are trying to get through the turnstile form close to 40 deep,” Emanuel said.
Democratic U.S. Congressman Bobby Rush, who represents the area, says delays at 95th Street have been tough on many low-income South Siders who take the El to work.
"[It’s a] disgrace to the city, a disgrace to the state, a disgrace to the nation and a flat-out insult to the people who is supposed to be serviced by this station,” Rush said.
The CTA will close down the entire South Branch of the Red Line as it rehabs the line next spring. Work on the 95th Street station would begin after that.
