CTA Picks Walsh Construction to Oversee 95th Street Terminal Rebuild

As the CTA wraps up track reconstruction on the south Red Line, slated to reopen on October 20, there’s some movement on the upcoming rehab of the 95th Street Terminal, originally built in 1969 as part of the Dan Ryan Expressway project. The agency has hired Walsh Construction to serve as the construction manager and general contractor for the $240 million station rebuild, scheduled to begin next year.

Unlike the typical practice of hiring a general contractor after the design process is completed, Walsh will start work during the design phase. The CTA says this will help ensure that the work is done efficiently and on time, since the CM/GC will be involved early on in decision making about construction practices, materials and other logistical issues. Walsh has worked on numerous city contracts (some would argue too many), and is currently building the Bloomingdale Trail.

The contract, which the CTA board approved awarding to Walsh today, is worth up to $648,000. The award calls for 30 percent Disadvantaged Business Enterprise participation, including subcontractors II in One Contractors, which will serve as a project principal, chief estimator, and estimating and DBE compliance officer for preconstruction services, and The Roderick Group, Inc., which will provide design validation reviews.

The station is one of the system’s busiest, serving about 20,000 customers a day. Along with Red Line trains, the terminal accommodates about 1,000 CTA and Pace bus trips a day, as well as Greyhound and India Trails intercity bus service. Construction will begin next spring and should be completed by the end of 2016. The funding for the project is a mix of federal, state and CTA money.

As part of the project, the agency has hired Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates to create two original artworks for the station, in what the CTA says will be the largest public art project in the system’s history. One of the pieces will be an architectural feature built into the terminal’s structure, and the other will be a freestanding work. A series of community meetings is being held to allow residents to provide input on the designs. Here’s the schedule of upcoming meetings:

Friday, October 25
Garfield Park Conservatory
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
300 North Central Park
Note: this is an evening reception event and part of Chicago Artists Month (more info)

Saturday, November 2
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Chicago State University
9501 South King

Monday, December 9
5:30 p.m. -  7:30 p.m.
St. James AME Church
9256 South Lafayette

Tuesday, December 17
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Chicago Park District, Abbott Park
49 East 95th