CTA Red and Purple Modernization Project

The RPM project will be the largest public works project our community sees in a lifetime. While this project will enhance a key asset in our community and serve future generations, during the construction our community will feel significant impacts. Our office is committed to working with neighbors and business owners to collaborate on solutions to the pains of construction.
We will do our best to keep this page updated, but recommend you stay connected with CTA for the most up-to-date information:

CTA Red Purple Modernization Project Updates

Catalpa Ave. Street Closure – Next Week

Catalpa Ave will be closed between the CTA tracks and N Winthrop Ave starting next Monday, August 9 through Monday, August 25. Crews will need a full closure to vehicular traffic as they perform viaduct and abutment demolition. Depending on construction, one sidewalk will remain open at all times unless it is unsafe to do so. Any residents who live south of Catalpa Ave. will need to access the alley via Balmoral Ave. and residents who live north of Catalpa Ave will need to access the alley via Bryn Mawr Ave. Click here to read the Construction Activity Notice. 

See what the new Red Line stations will look like!

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CTA in January 2021 unveiled new designs for four Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, and Bryn Mawr Red Line stations that will be fully reconstructed as part of the Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase One project. The new stations will include elevators and escalators, wider platforms, and vastly improved amenities, better serving the more than four million customers who enter the stations each year. Major construction work will begin this spring. Lawrence and Berwyn stations will close for 3 ½-4 years. Customers will be able to access the Red Line at Argyle and Bryn Mawr via temporary rail stations close to the original stationhouses. All stations are expected to be completed and open by the end of 2024.

About the Project

Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) is a transformative project designed to ensure a strong future for the CTA’s busiest rail line, that will modernize stations and structures nearly a century old.

RPM improvements in the 48th Ward include:

  • New Modern Stations: Four stations (Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr) will be completely rebuilt, along with new track viaducts and embankments along the Red/Purple lines between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr.
  • Faster, Smoother Rides: New track viaducts and embankment along the Red/Purple lines between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr, and signal upgrades along the entire line to provide smoother and quieter rides
  • Less Crowding and More Frequent Service: Wider and longer station platforms at Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr. With signal upgrades, this will allow the CTA to add up to 15 Red, Brown and Purple line trains each hour during rush hours.
  • Full ADA Accessibility: Rebuilt stations will include elevators and other accessibility improvements.

Click here for a comprehensive overview of the project on the CTA website.

RPM in the 48th Ward

The RPM project will be the largest public works project our community sees in a lifetime. While this project will enhance a key asset in our community and serve future generations, during the construction our community will feel significant impacts. Our office is committed to working with neighbors and business owners to collaborate on solutions to the pains of construction.

In December 2018, the CTA announced their selection for a contracting team that will design and build the $2.1B RPM Project. After an 18-month procurement process, the Walsh-Fluor team was selected to execute an historic project for our community and the City of Chicago. Through Spring 2019, crews will continue to relocate utilities in the alleys adjacent to the train tracks, and construction on the tracks and stations is not expected to begin until 2020. We expect to begin holding community meetings with the CTA and the Walsh-Fluor team in spring of 2019.

If you have any questions or concerns about the project, please contact Alan Oviedo in our office at alan@48thward.org.