Good article here on CREATE project to detangle Chicago rail:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/us...pagewanted=all

I'm pretty sure that when they built the blue line subway, they already put in a link to the lake street line. I can't find it anywhere online, though.

They put a stub in that direction, but there's no portal and the stub isn't that long - a fraction of a block.

Wikipedia also mentions it.

Yea, there's a stub. It was actually designed to tie into a new subway station at Clinton for Lake St trains, and then extend to a portal at Peoria St.

It would have been an interesting station, with two platforms at different heights for inbound and outbound trains.

I doubt they will ever finish that project - it is just $300+ Million flushed down the drain.

Vintage CTA Photos......
 

Found this online - C O O L: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Ma...f-Our-El-Cars/

Night and Day
 

CTA Powerwashes Belmont

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7212/7...2260da7c_c.jpg
Courtesy of CTA

^Holy shit!

Are you sure they're not repainting it white? ;)

Yep, white paint at 3000 psi.

That really is incredible. Was it ever cleaned before?

Now that really means something, coming from Mr Downtown.


Gotta love the rickety hobo-like platforms they rolled in on the tracks. Are they as old as the grime being removed?

^^ Reminds me of the Paris Metro, when I was the only one on a station platform at 11pm and a rusty, 100-year-old work train rolls out of the tunnel and slooooowly passes through the station, creaking eerily with no operator in sight.

:eek:

Yup, Belmont-Blue is my station and she sure is looking purdy. ;)

I've got some more power washing pictures floating around - including one where the left wall is completely cleaned and the right is untouched. They did a similar scrub-down at Logan Square a month or two ago.

Gotta say: Rahm's "SWAT teams" have done a really bang-up job. I've noticed lots of visual improvements in the last few months.

+1.

I take the Clinton Blue to O'Hare quite a bit and I've definitely noticed the improvements all the way across the board. The CTA blitzkrieg seems to be working wonders for these stations. Logan Square and Belmont be lookin' mighty fine these days! :cool:

Per the Sun-Times, the city has a new transporation plan. It has the usual stuff - more bike routes, Damen/Elston fix, etc. But it also mentions razing the Belmont and Western overpass. Last I heard they have been going back and forth on repair or tear down (and have been forever). So this is news to me.

http://www.suntimes.com/12448860-418...tion-plan.html

^^^
I'm sure Rahm will hold a five hour press conference...

It was pretty much a fait accompli anyway. The teardown is cheaper and the city's models claim traffic would be able to move faster through the corridor without the flyover.

That intersection is kind of a black hole because of the flyover, but it's just a few blocks away from red hot Roscoe Village, so hopefully without the overpass this area can get some much-needed love.

There's also some neat stuff about a master strategy for traffic management, with a scientific approach to signal interconnection and variable-message signs on arterials. Glad to see the city is focusing on maximizing the capacity of existing roadways instead of huge, expensive road expansions.

Plus - the Wells-Wentworth Connector lives!

What page? I can't find it.

Page 33. "Begin design of the Wells-Wentworth
Connector between Roosevelt and Cermak
Roads."

Would be nice to see this built and hopefully add back the Taylor St. bridge at some later point. Would do a lot better job of connecting this area to the rest of the city.