On 31 August, Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel opened the new Washington/Wabash Station, a brand new gateway to Millennium Park and the east Loop, and the first new downtown ‘L’ station to open in 20 years.
“The new CTA station at Washington and Wabash represents the best of Chicago’s heritage of architectural innovation and ingenuity while creating modern amenities for the thousands of travelers who utilize it every day. We have made unprecedented investments to modernize transport throughout Chicago, and this new station combines that commitment with our city’s culture,” the mayor said.
Built between Madison and Washington Streets, over Wabash Avenue, the USD 75 million station makes a bold architectural statement and replaces 2 stations that were built more than 120 years ago. The new station is first fully accessible for persons with disabilities with 4 elevators, an escalator and a platform that is wider than most others in the Loop.
The Washington/Wabash station sits steps from Millennium Park, historic Jeweler’s Row and the vibrant East Loop and Michigan Avenue. It is expected to become one of CTA’s top ten busiest rail stations, providing more than 10,000 rides on a daily basis on the Brown, Green, Orange, Pink and Purple Lines.
The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) built the station, while working with its neighbors to minimize the disruption to Wabash Avenue merchants and traffic. The new station features a striking architectural “skeletal steel” canopy that provides extensive coverage of the station’s platform from end to end, and offers four elevators, an escalator and a platform that is wider than most others in the Loop. The station also has multiple surveillance cameras to enhance passenger safety as well as real-time train arrival information
The $75 million new station was funded through federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program.
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