CHICAGO–Mayor Brandon Johnson joined Chicago Transit Authority Acting President Nora Leerhsen and other dignitaries to celebrate the opening of the Austin Green Line station, the West Side’s newest, fully accessible access point to the rail system.
This work is part of the CTA’sâ¯All Stations Accessibility Programand complements Mayor Johnson’s vision to make Chicago the most accessible city in the world.
“Building the safest, most affordable big city in America means investing in accessible public transportation that serves the needs of every Chicagoan,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. “When we remove barriers to transportation, we expand access to employment, education, healthcare, and the everyday opportunities Chicagoans need to thrive.
I'm proud to join our partners at the CTA and across local government to welcome my neighbors in Austin to this brand-new, state-of-the-art station—the latest investment we’ve made to advance equity and opportunity on the West Side and throughout all of Chicago.”
CTA’s ASAP Strategic Plan was released in 2018, and serves as a blueprint for making all rail stations fully accessible by 2038, plus upgrading or replacing existing system elevators.
With the opening of the Austin station, 110 of CTA’s 146 rail stations are ADA accessible.
Austin is among the 14 stations recently opened or currently funded and in various stages of planning, design or under construction.
“Public transit is about connecting people to opportunity, and every accessible station brings us one step closer to a Chicago where everyone can travel freely,” saidCTA Acting President Leerhsen. “Reaching 75% accessibility—along with recent breaking ground on the historic Red Line Extension—is a huge milestone for our city and the surrounding communities.
I’m incredibly proud of our team’s dedication, but we won't stop here.
We’re fully committed to working with our partners to secure the funding needed to reach 100% accessibility for every rider over the next decade.”
Funding for this critical infrastructure project was sourced through the federal government’s Surface Transportation Program and Gov. Pritzker’sRebuild IllinoisCapital Plan.
STP funds provided $20.3M in funding and Rebuild Illinois provide $5.3M to this project for a total budget of $25.6M.
The original street level station opened in 1899 and had not been upgraded since it was rebuilt in 1962.⯠Work included the installation of a new elevator and escalator connecting to the platform; reconstruction of the stairs and a new ADA compliant ramp; extension of the platform; plus other station enhancements.
During construction, riders were able to access rail services using the stations auxiliary entrance.
Currently, CTA has secured funding for all the stations identified in Phase One and roughly half of those in Phase Two of the ASAP Plan.
CTA has also secured $37 million in funding for elevator replacement and/or modernization efforts.
Work is currently underway to complete an inventory of these elevator conditions to be able to put construction packages together for future project work.
Funding remains the biggest impediment to achieving a fully accessible rail system.
Since the launch of the ASAP Plan, CTA has secured $740.8 million in funding, with planning and construction underway for nearly all non-accessible stations identified in the first two phase of the Plan.CTA continues to seek out additional sources of funding for Phases Three and Four of the program.