The bicycles are staying. Divvy is just decreasing the fleet to match the expected decline in ridership. A press release said the following:

"Alta Bicycle Share, which operates Divvy, will handle snow removal at the city's nearly 300 stations — which cropped up this summer and stretch from Hyde Park to Edgewater. A team of rebalancers, technicians and street cleaners already are responsible for daily upkeep, Greenberger said. Come winter, they'll load their vans with shovels, brooms and salt."

Cool. I was starting to assume Indiana was never going to fix this bridge and do away with the grade separated highway altogether. Cline Ave never had that much traffic anyway, although perhaps years ago there was a bigger need for it. On the rare occasions when I do drive eastward, Cline was always my favorite detour. I love all the industrial scenery as it passes the refinery, runs through the outlying oil tank farms, twists alongside the old inland steel plant and drops you beside the Gary Airport upon rejoining I-90. Always worth the extra toll at Gary.

I do wonder if they have enough traffic to pay off construction costs, debt service and still make a profit. Traffic was light to begin with, and I can't imagine truckers will volunteer to pay the extra tolls to save a few minutes on a local delivery. They must be confident the numbers will work to start construction in the spring.

I agree on the box girders, they are almost sculptural.

How high was the old bridge above the water, the image of the new bridge seems to look much lower? I have many times used it to return to Chicago from delivering Copiers in Indiana, because to me it was like the thrill of Skydiving or Base jumping (I could feel my heart pounding at the crest).

I think it is a needed connection, and not a bad Toll fee. For I-355 to/from I-88 to I-80 -- you have to get a Payday Loan!

Kind of reminds me of the Zilwaukee bridge outside my old hometown. The bridge was built in the 80's with many construction problems. But after those were fixed it has a guaranteed lifespan of 120 years. It's got nearly the same proximity to great lakes waters, climate like Chicago, and the deck has never been replaced since it was built.

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A friend and I rented them during a snowfall to test them out on clear, but icy surfaces. They handle well with those big tires. Their bulkiness gives them enough inertia not to slip out of direction of travel when going across ice. Braking could be better, but overall a good winter bike.

Snow plows on the other hand are something I hadn't thought about. The ones placed in the street are especially concerning.

Yeah, there was a brief time in the 80s when several box girders were built around the Midwest on high-profile projects. Many of them had problems, especially the various structures along Cline Avenue. There was a deadly accident during the original construction and of course the more recent failure of the bridge over the Indiana Ship Canal.

With the development of epoxy-coated rebar and better protection for post-tensioning tendons, a lot of these design issues have been solved. There might be issues with the financing arrangement but most road deals these days shift the risk onto the government (the state is required to pay the difference if the tolls can't cover debt service).

What the f*ck?

Where's all this money coming from? Maybe this is Rahm's famous PR machine at work again... bundling a bunch of existing smaller projects. If this is all new spending, though, then why the hell is he spending it on the Blue Line instead of the local match for RPM?

CTA Blue Line to receive $492M investment, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office
 

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...ews&id=9349462

December 5, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the CTA will announce a $492 million investment in the Blue Line's O'Hare branch.
The mayor's office says it will be the largest comprehensive investment for the Blue Line since it was extended from Jefferson Park to O'Hare 30 years ago.
The four-year program will include track and infrastructure improvements, station house upgrades, subway improvements, signal upgrades and power upgrades.

The mayor's office also says the plan will improve reliability and reduce commute times between downtown and O'Hare by up to 10 minutes.

http://www.transitchicago.com/news/d...ArticleId=3242

Blue Line Improvements
 

[QUOTE=ardecila;6363907]What the f*ck?



Where's all this money coming from? Maybe this is Rahm's famous PR machine at work again... bundling a bunch of existing smaller projects. If this is all new spending, though, then why the hell is he spending it on the Blue Line instead of the local match for RPM?[/QUOTE

The PR machine joke made me laugh. Then consider the press release where it says that $4b in transit improvements have been announced since he took office, yet only $1b is accounted for in the same release. Rahm may be a c%$# sucker, but you almost have to be get stuff done in a broken parochial political system like Chicago's. And he does get stuff done. Just ask an urban minded person from Toronto if they would trade Rob Ford for Rahm... even well before crackgate.

Requoted for truth

Only one new elevator? That's unfortunate. I was hoping for more. We're on pace to be fully ADA-compliant in 15-20 years...

Elevators might be included in "extensive station renovations" but who knows.

I saw this clarified, though, and they're saying it takes 50 minutes currently. I've been on trains that took as little as 40 minutes, so I was really hoping they were basing that 10 minutes off of, say, 45 minutes, so we might see times as low as 35 minutes, which would be cool. If it could do Loop->ORD in 35 minutes consistently, you don't even really need an express train and a lot more people would ride the train to O'Hare because taxis don't usually take 45 minutes, but they frequently do take 35 minutes, which swings strongly in favor of the train.

I don't think the O'Hare branch has ever had 35 minute service (I assume the reference point is Clark/Lake) but with the new AC railcars providing better acceleration, it might be possible.

Take it with a grain of salt, though - this is a Rahm Emanuel announcement. 35 minutes is probably the best case scenario, assuming minimal dwell times in each station and no delays whatsoever.

Does anyone know if it's possible to run ten-car trains on the Blue Line? I would assume no (Logan Square and Belmont have shorter platforms I think) but it could be possible.

I remember the drawbridge that used to be there :)

When I was a kid.

The opposite is true. Logan and Belmont Blue have some of the longer platforms in the city. Logan could probably handle a 16 car train with ease as it is more than twice as long as an 8 car train. Belmont is not as long, but could handle at least 10 cars in my estimation.

Is being a cock sucker a bad thing?

In a "broken parochial political system" it is ... but otherwise, no.

Kristen Maddox kindly took a bunch of photos at Rahm's Blue Line press conference.

Jefferson Park will see a big reconstruction (I'm already getting tired of this wavy design motif) while most other stations will see a "safe and dry" station renovation that is probably similar to the work performed on the North Red Line stations. The cost figures at Damen and California ($12-$20M) are similar to the figures in the Brown Line project for complete station reconstructions, and those were also side-platform elevated stations on a steel viaduct so it's a decent comparison.

Also: Logan Square Mixed-Use TOD? Are they planning to sell off the station plaza to a developer?

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