Takeoff time for CTA's Midway Line - Chicago Transit Authority - includes related article

Railway Age, June, 1993

At that point, the transit system was pretty well locked in place, and expansion consisted almost entirely of extensions of existing lines. The sole exception was the Dan Ryan. And while there was a longstanding desire for a southwest corridor line--hopeful transit maps of Chicago going back as far as 30 years often show a shaded line--funding only became available with the 1979 de-designation of another Chicago transportation project, the Crosstown Expressway.

Money freed from that project was used as part of the Chicago Interstate Transfer Program to acquire matching funds at a 15% local-85% federal ratio, which allowed the project to be seriously considered in the late 1970s and early '80s. In fact, Southwest Transit Project papers indicate that community support was strong for an even longer route of 11.3 miles that could not be afforded. Now, 12 years after the alternatives-analysis was begun, the Midway Line is ready to roll.

* From Midway to downtown. The new line starts at Midway Airport, then runs along the fight-of-way of the Chicago Belt Railway north to 49th Street. From there, it runs east, parallel to the Grand Trunk Western, then north along Conrail fight-of-way, and northeast along Illinois Central and Santa Fe rights-ofway, until it meets the existing CTA system at 18th Street and Wentworth Ave. Because of its extensive use of abandoned or marginally-used rights-of-way, budgeted cost for right-of-way acquisition was only $16 million, or less than 3-1/2% of the total $496 million project cost.

Creation of the Midway line dictated the need to realign two other CTA corridors, a project that has brought improved service to the north-to-south corridor. In order to lessen stresses on the Loop elevated structure, the heavily-traveled northern line that had run from the northern edge of the city at Howard Street south to Englewood and Jackson Park was realigned with the other heavy-traffic route along the Dan Ryan. Simultaneously, the under-utilized western-corridor elevated Lake Street line was combined with the lighter-traffic Englewood/Jackson Park elevated route.

The result of this was more efficient operation. Instead of two lines, each providing heavy traffic over the Loop in one direction, the authority now has one heavy-traffic and one light-traffic line.

The new alignment provides more logical service in terms of vehicle moves, will allow the venerable central downtown "EL" to handle the additional stresses of the Midway Line, and provides more efficient transit service for CTA passengers. At the same time that these changes were being made, the CTA moved into the age of colorization, color coding its hub and spur lines red, green, blue, yellow, brown, purple, and orange. Midway drew orange.

* Building the line. Design and construction work was overseen by the Southwest Transit Project, which worked with a total of 21 design consultants operating under the guidance of a joint venture of Raymond F. Kaiser Engineers and Envirodyne Engineers, Inc. The joint venture for construction consisted of the Ralph M. Parsons Company and DeLeuw Cather & Co., with local junior members Dubin, Dubin & Moutoussamy, William E. Brazley & Associates, and C.F. Moore Construction Company. Total cost of the standard gauge, 600-volt, third-rail-powered line will be $496 million.