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Officials Celebrate Completion of $25M Project to Improve Accessibility at CTA Green Line Station in Austin
Elected leaders and Chicago Transit Authority officials gather on August 7, 2026, to celebrate the ribbon cutting for a $25 million project to make the CTA Austin Green Line station more accessible to riders. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
A newly revamped CTA Green Line station in Austin aims to better serve public transit riders with disabilities following the completion of a $25 million project.
Elected leaders and transportation officials gathered Friday for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the reconstructed Green Line station on the West Side. Upgrades include a new elevator and escalator, reconstructed stairs, a new ramp, an extended platform and a monitor that displays real-time elevator status information.
The upgraded station is part of a broader CTA initiative to make all rail stations fully accessible by 2038.
With the renovations to the Austin station, 110 out of 146 rail stations, or 75%, are now accessible to riders, according to CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen.
“Accessibility benefits us all,” Leerhsen said. “It benefits riders with wheelchairs who need to get to work and live their lives. It benefits elder adults as they travel to a doctor’s appointment. It benefits parents with strollers, travelers carrying luggage and anyone whose mobility changes throughout their life.”
Upgrades to the CTA Austin Green Line station include a new elevator and escalator, reconstructed stairs, a new ramp, an extended platform and a monitor that displays real-time elevator status information. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
The Austin station is among 14 stations that are recently opened, or are currently funded and in various stages of planning, design or construction as part of the accessibility initiative, according to a news release. The CTA is still seeking additional sources of funding to fully complete the project, the transit authority said.
The $25.6 million price tag for the Austin project was provided through the Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Transportation program and the state’s Rebuild Illinois capital plan. The federal government accounted for $20.3 million and the state accounted for $5.3 million.
The original street-level station opened in 1899 and had not been upgraded since it was rebuilt in 1962.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held by officials last year in March to kick off the start of renovations. During construction, riders were still able to use the station through an auxiliary entrance, officials said.
Speakers during Friday’s ribbon cutting event also included Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, CTA Board Chair Lester Barclay, Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps and BUILD Chicago CEO Bradly Johnson.
“This ribbon cutting is a powerful symbol of a shared commitment to investing in the West Side and to all the community areas of Chicago that have been historically denied investments and neglected for far too long,” Johnson, an Austin resident, said.
The upgraded Austin Green Line station is part of a broader CTA initiative to make all rail stations fully accessible by 2038. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
