The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has release the final design for the currently under construction 95th/Dan Ryan Red Line L station. The complete reconstruction of the final stop on the Red Line started 2014, and is expected to be fully completed in 2018.
The Red Line is the busiest route in the L system, running 24 hours a day, from the far North to the far South Side. The $280 million project part of a much larger initiative to update many of the L stations throughout the system. The original station was designed by SOM and built in 1969. The station is a terminal for the line, with its own small yard that is being updated for ease of train movement. An integrated bus terminal is also being rebuilt with the station. Being the busiest stop on the south branch of the Red Line, the CTA has referred to the new station as the “signature” station of the L system.
Earlier conceptual designs were released to the public in 2014 for a more subdued heavily glazed station. The new renderings show bolder forms and more extensive use of bright red. The design for the station has been led by Chicago-based Exp.
The station will also include at least two major public artworks. The CTA is working with Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates on the public artworks as well as community outreach throughout the project.
Exp is also responsible for the design for the much anticipated Washington/Wabash L station in Chicago’s downtown Loop. The Washington/Wabash station, expected to be complete later this year, features undulating white ribbed awnings over the platforms. Announced in 2012, the stop will look particularly different than the often inconspicuous L stations in the loop. The station is expected to be complete this year.
Since 2012 CTA has also announced the remodeling of multiple other stations throughout the system. The latest include the Wilson Red Line station and the Garfield Green Line station. Work on the Garfield station has just received a $15 million TIGER Grant from the federal government. The station is also notable as it sits immediately next to the Theaster Gates initiated Arts Block, which will soon include a Johnston Marklee project.
