CTA Purple Line Viaduct Project Update
The CTA Purple Line Viaduct project will be starting soon, on October 4th residents were informed of the details surrounding the project in a joint meeting held by Alderman Melissa Wynn of the 3rd Ward and Don Wilson of the 4th ward. The Chicago Transit Authority will be replacing three viaducts and repairing a retaining wall. The meeting was in concert with the CTA and Kiewit Infrastructure Group, the contractor working to complete this critical project.
Paul Schneider, Director of Transportation for the City of Evanston briefly discussed the role the city plays in the project which includes permitting for street closures, detouring traffic and working with CTA to ensure the project has the smallest impact on residents possible. Paul also stressed the close collaborative relationship the City has built with CTA on this project.
Bob Wittmann, CTA Director of Construction Management went over the timeline of the project for the fall. The Chicago Avenue retaining wall work started in October and is currently being repaired. It will be completed this fall.
Caisson work at Dempster St., Greenleaf St. and Grove St. will be conducted to prepare for Purple Line Viaduct replacement in 2012. Caisson work involves placing a large cylindrical can into the ground, drilling and removing the earth from within the can and then finally filling the ground with concrete. It will serve as the foundation for the new CTA bridges.
Each site will need to be closed to vehicular traffic for approximately two weeks to put the caisson into place. Additionally during this closure period, some overnight work will occur during Purple Line off hours. It will be as minimally disruptive as possible. Doing the work this fall will potentially cut down on the overall length of the project.
Street closures are scheduled to be:
- Grove Street (From Elmwood Ave. to just east of the viaduct) October 10 through October 23rd
- Dempster St. (From Sherman Ave. to Sherman Place) October 24 through November 6th
- Greenleaf St. (From Custer Ave. to just east of the viaduct) November 7th through November 20th
It was pointed out that pedestrian access will be maintained at all three locations.
Next spring, the new bridges will be built on site starting in late winter and put into place in late spring or early summer. The Greenleaf Bridge will be built in Jewel/Osco parking lot, Dempster Bridge will be forged together on Sherman Place and the Grove Viaduct will be built on south side of Grove St. between Sherman Pl. and the viaduct.
The Aldermen thanked Assistant Senate Majority Leader Jeff Schoenberg whose unwavering efforts and leadership in Springfield directly led to funding for this essential project. The City is very pleased and excited to have these three viaducts replaced. The change is going to be wonderful when it is finally complete.
The Joint Ward meeting concluded with CTA, Kiewit and City staff answering a variety of resident’s questions in small working groups. The meeting concluded within one hour.