3-year State/Lake 'L' station closure begins Monday

preCharge News ILLINOIS — Anyone getting off at the Lake Street CTA Red Line subway stop on Sunday might have noticed some new signage near the station’s stairways to street level.

The updated signs direct passengers looking to transfer to the elevated lines to head for the Washington/Wabash stop a short walk to the southeast, instead of the elevated State/Lake platform overhead.

This is because there will be no elevated State/Lake platform for the next three years.

Effective Monday, the Chicago Transit Authority elevated station, which serves the Brown, Green, Purple, Orange and Pink lines, is 120 years old. The city announced it will be completely demolished and rebuilt as a “new, fully accessible rail hub” in early December.

The State/Lake elevated station is one of the oldest in the city’s system and has the fifth-highest ridership. Officials said the new station will have wider platforms, new elevators with full ADA accessibility, a glass canopy and improved lighting and visibility.

The project will cost $444 million. Construction will take at least three years, with the new station set to open in 2029.

Until then, commuters who are used to an easy transfer from the subway will have to make some adjustments.

“You know, the biggest impact is people making connections between the Loop elevator and the Red Line are going to get off at a different station that involves a couple blocks of walking, and even those on buses might have impacts with State Street being a construction site so it’s a lot of things at once, and we’re going to feel the effects,” said transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman of DePaul University.

State Street has already been partially closed for months for construction, and crossing the Chicago River at State Street has not been an option. This has affected bus traffic already for months upon months — the No. 36 Broadway bus, which runs on State Street from Division Street south to Van Buren Street, has been rerouted by way of Kinzie Street, Clark Street, and Wacker Drive.

Beginning Monday, even more of State Street downtown will be disrupted. The southbound lanes will be closed from Wacker Drive to Washington Street. Northbound State will see all lanes reopened.