Politics
CTA Austin Green Line Station Begins $25M Reconstruction Aimed at Accessibility Amid Broader Funding Questions
Groundbreaking event at Chicago Transit Authority’s Austin Green Line station at the West Side neighborhood on March 31, 2025. (WTTW News)
A $25 million reconstruction project to improve accessibility at the Green Line’s Austin station on the West Side is underway.
The project comes amid broader funding uncertainty that transit officials say stands in the way of efforts to make all rail stations on the Chicago Transit Authority fully accessible by 2038.
“Accessibility doesn’t just benefit people like me and in my community,” said CTA Board Director Michele Lee, who uses a wheelchair, during a Monday news conference. “Remember a time when you’re struggling with a stroller or luggage up a flight of stairs, you’d also want a ramp or an elevator.”
The main entrance of the Austin Green Line station will be closed for construction starting in June and is expected to continue into next spring. Riders will continue to have access to rail services using the station’s auxiliary entrance, according to officials.
Station improvements include the installation of a new elevator and escalator connecting to the platform, a new ADA-compliant ramp, extension of the platform and reconstruction of stairs. The original street-level station opened in 1899 and has not been upgraded since it was rebuilt in 1962, according to a news release.
Funding for the $25.6 million project is through the Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Transportation program and the state’s Rebuild Illinois capital plan. Federal funds provided $20.3 million and Rebuild Illinois picked up $5.3 million, according to transit officials.
“This is an innovative approach to utilizing funds traditionally spent on roads to invest and modernize our transit system, so we remain a competitive and reliable alternative to driving,” CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen said.
Chicago Transit Authority Acting President Nora Leerhsen speaks during a groundbreaking event at the Austin Green Line station at the West Side neighborhood on March 31, 2025. (WTTW News)
The CTA’s All Stations Accessibility Program, announced in 2018, aims to make all rail stations fully accessible by 2038, in addition to upgrading existing system elevators. Currently, 104 of 146 rail stations, or about 70%, are ADA accessible, according to a news release.
Austin is among the 14 stations currently funded and in various stages of planning, design or under construction.
The Austin Green Line station, Racine Blue Line station and the Argyle, Berwyn, Bryn Mawr and Lawrence Red/Purple Line stations are all expected to complete construction within the next year, according to officials.
As of now, CTA has secured funding for all the stations identified in the first phase and about half of those in the second phase of the All Stations Accessibility Program. Since the launch of the program, CTA has secured $740.8 million in funding, according to the agency.
The program has a total of four phases. The CTA is still seeking additional sources of funding for phases three and four of the program, according to the transit system.
“Funding remains the biggest impediment to achieving a fully accessible rail system,” according to a CTA news release.
This comes as Chicago area transit systems CTA, Metra and Pace face a $770 million fiscal cliff next year.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
