Washington/Wabash station

Last updated
Washington/Wabash
 
100N
44E
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
Orange-Green-Purple-Pink Line platform at Washington-Wabash.jpg
General information
Location29 N. Wabash Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60602
Coordinates 41°52′58″N87°37′34″W / 41.882900°N 87.626205°W / 41.882900; -87.626205
Owned by City of Chicago
Line(s) Loop Elevated
Platforms2 Side platforms
Tracks2
Connections Metramlogo.svg Metra: Millennium Station
Construction
Structure typeElevated
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedAugust 31, 2017;6 years ago (2017-08-31) [1]
Passengers
20201,082,287 [2] Decrease2.svg 65.4%
Rank11 out of 143
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
State/Lake
One-way operation
Orange Line Adams/Wabash
toward Midway Pictograms-nps-airport.svg
State/Lake
toward Harlem/Lake
Green Line Adams/Wabash
State/Lake
One-way operation
Purple Line
Express
Adams/Wabash
toward Linden
Pink Line Adams/Wabash
toward 54th/Cermak
State/Lake
toward Kimball
Brown Line Adams/Wabash
One-way operation
Former services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Randolph/Wabash
Closed 2017
One-way operation
Orange Line Adams/Wabash
toward Midway Pictograms-nps-airport.svg
Randolph/Wabash
Closed 2017
toward Harlem/Lake
Green Line Adams/Wabash
Randolph/Wabash
Closed 2017
One-way operation
Purple Line
Express
Adams/Wabash
toward Linden
Pink Line Adams/Wabash
toward 54th/Cermak
Randolph/Wabash
Closed 2017
toward Kimball
Brown Line Adams/Wabash
One-way operation
Location
Washington/Wabash station

Washington/Wabash is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines. The station opened on August 31, 2017. [3] It serves as a consolidation and replacement of the Randolph/Wabash and Madison/Wabash stations. The project was undertaken by the Chicago Department of Transportation. Construction of the $75 million station began in 2015 following the closure of Madison/Wabash in March 2015 and was completed in August 2017. The station is located between Washington and Madison Streets on Wabash Avenue in the Loop.

Contents

In 2018, the new station was recognized with an award of excellence by the American Institute of Architects, Chicago chapter. [4]

History

Before the construction of Washington/Wabash station, two stations were taking the place of the current station: Madison/Wabash station and Randolph/Wabash station. Both stations were built and opened in November 8, 1896, as part of construction on the Wabash portion of the Loop Elevated. [5]

The CTA had proposed consolidating two of the aforementioned stations since November 1981. [6] [5] A similar consolidation project occurred in July 1995 with the opening of Washington/Wells station, a replacement station of both Madison/Wells station and Randolph/Wells station. [7] In September 1998, the CTA proposed a $29 million "superstation" replacing both Madison/Wabash station and State/Lake station; this plan never materialized. [6] [8]

Washington/Wabash station under construction, June 2017 Washington and Wabash CTA under construction.jpg
Washington/Wabash station under construction, June 2017

In April 2003, the CTA worked with and gave $1 million to the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) to start preliminary work on a future consolidated station between Madison/Wabash and Randolph/Wabash stations. Ten years later on September 30, 2013, the final design of the new station was unveiled. The station was priced at $75 million, which was funded by the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program. [6] [9] The new station was planned to be ADA-accessible unlike its predecessor stations. With the removal of the two original stations, travel time and maintenance cost on the Wabash section would be reduced. [10] Although construction on the new station was planned to commence in fall 2014, it was delayed to March 2015. On March 16, 2015, as part of construction, Madison/Wabash station was closed permanently. [11] [6] The new consolidated station opened on August 31, 2017. [8] Randolph/Wabash station then closed three days later on September 3 in favor of the newly-opened station. [12]

Bus connections

CTA

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "Chicago's new Washington-Wabash 'L' station officially opens". 31 August 2017.
  2. "Annual Ridership Report Calendar Year 2020" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. January 19, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  3. "CTA Opens New 'L' Station In Loop". 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  4. Kamin, Blair (October 26, 2018). "Restored Unity Temple, Loop CTA station highlight winners of architecture awards". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  5. 1 2 "A Farewell to The Loop's Madison-Wabash Station". Curbed Chicago. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Timeline: A century of the Madison/Wabash 'L' station". Chicago Tribune. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  7. "Chicago L.org: Stations - Washington/Wells". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Chicago L.org: Stations - Washington/Wabash". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  9. "Mayor Emanuel Announces Release of Final Renderings of Washington-Wabash CTA Elevated Station". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  10. Greenfield, John (26 March 2014). "Loop Station Consolidation Will Offer Quicker Ride for Straphangers". Streetsblog Chicago. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  11. "Sunday The Final Day For Madison/Wabash 'L' Station - CBS Chicago". CBS News. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  12. LaTrace, A. J. (5 September 2017). "The Loop's Randolph/Wabash station is now permanently closed". Curbed Chicago. Retrieved 26 March 2024.

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