South Siders who have been dealing with construction for the $280 million 95th Street Red Line station rehab for the last three years will be glad to hear that the project is hitting a major milestone. A new pedestrian bridge connecting the north and south terminals will be erected this weekend, which suggests that work on the station will wrap up by the end of this year as scheduled.
The south terminal, located on the south side of 95th, opened to bus and rail service on April 15. This summer workers demolished the old station, on the north side of the street, and started construction of the new north terminal. The new bridge will stretch 150 feet across busy, eight-lane 95th Street to provide a car-free, weather-protected route between the two facilities.
On Sunday, crews will use two large cranes to lift the bridge into the air and connect it to the north and south terminals. The span will be installed in three large sections, each weighing more than 73,000 pounds.
This portion of 95th will be closed to all traffic from 11:30 p.m. this Saturday to 11:30 p.m. Sunday. During this time CTA customers and pedestrians who need to walk east or west on 95th will be rerouted around the open south end of the South Terminal, along the bus area's sidewalks. Drivers will be detoured along Halsted Street, 87th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. Wayfinding signs will guide CTA customers, pedestrians and motorists during this period and customer assistants will also on hand to help people with navigation.
During the street closure, the stops for nine CTA bus routes will be temporarily relocated to allow the CTA to continue construction work on the brand new 95th Street Terminal now under way. The affected routes are: N5, N9, 29, 34, 95, 111, 112, 115 and 119. For details on these reroutes, see the map above or visit this page on the CTA website.
Customer using new bridge will eventually feature local artist Theaster Gates’ installation titled “america, america,” consisting of two large tapestries made from colorful strips of fire hoses and galvanized steel, an apparent reference to the hoses turned on marchers during the African-American civil rights movement and the bars of jail cells. The CTA says the tapestries will reflect "the importance of the civil rights movement and the struggle and acknowledgement that the work of equity and equality is an ongoing effort not carried by one people, but by all.”
