Washington/Wabash is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines. The station opened on August 31, 2017.[3] It serves as a consolidation and replacement of the Randolph/Wabash and Madison/Wabash stations. The project was undertaken by the Chicago Department of Transportation. Construction of the $75 million station began in 2015, following the closure of Madison/Wabash in March 2015 and was completed in August 2017. The station is located between Washington and Madison Streets on Wabash Avenue in the Loop.
Washington/Wabash 100N 44E | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Inner Loop platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 29 North Wabash Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60602 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°52′58″N 87°37′34″W / 41.882900°N 87.626205°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | City of Chicago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line | Loop Elevated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections | Red at Lake (temporarily, during the closure of State/Lake until 2029)  and  at Millennium Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Elevated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | August 31, 2017[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2,255,225 [2]  7.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In 2018, the new station was recognized with an award of excellence by the American Institute of Architects, Chicago chapter.[4]
History
editBefore the construction of Washington/Wabash station, two stations were taking the place of the current station: Madison/Wabash station and Randolph/Wabash station. Both stations opened on November 8, 1896, as part of construction on the Wabash portion of the Loop Elevated.[5]
The CTA had proposed consolidating the two stations since November 1981.[6][5] A similar consolidation project occurred in July 1995, with the opening of Washington/Wells station, a replacement station of both Madison/Wells station and Randolph/Wells station.[7] In September 1998, the CTA proposed a $29 million superstation replacing both Madison/Wabash station and State/Lake station; this plan never happened.[6][8]
In April 2003, the CTA worked with and gave $1 million to the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) to start preliminary work on a future consolidated station between Madison/Wabash and Randolph/Wabash stations. Ten years later on September 30, 2013, the final design of the new station was unveiled. The station was priced at $75 million, which was funded by the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program.[6][9] The new station was planned to be ADA-accessible unlike its predecessor stations. With the removal of the two original stations, travel time and maintenance cost on the Wabash section would be reduced.[10] Although construction on the new station was planned to begin in fall 2014, it was delayed to March 2015. On March 16, 2015, as part of construction, Madison/Wabash station was closed permanently.[11][6] The new consolidated station opened on August 31, 2017.[8] Randolph/Wabash station then closed three days later on September 3 in favor of the newly opened station.[12]
Bus connections
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Chicago's new Washington-Wabash 'L' station officially opens". August 31, 2017. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017.
- ↑ "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2025" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ↑ "CTA Opens New 'L' Station In Loop". August 31, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ↑ Kamin, Blair (October 26, 2018). "Restored Unity Temple, Loop CTA station highlight winners of architecture awards". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
- 1 2 "A Farewell to The Loop's Madison-Wabash Station". Curbed Chicago. March 13, 2015. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 "Timeline: A century of the Madison/Wabash 'L' station". Chicago Tribune. March 16, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ↑ "Chicago L.org: Stations - Washington/Wells". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- 1 2 "Chicago L.org: Stations - Washington/Wabash". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ↑ "Mayor Emanuel Announces Release of Final Renderings of Washington-Wabash CTA Elevated Station". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ↑ Greenfield, John (March 26, 2014). "Loop Station Consolidation Will Offer Quicker Ride for Straphangers". Streetsblog Chicago. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ↑ "Sunday The Final Day For Madison/Wabash 'L' Station - CBS Chicago". CBS News. March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ↑ LaTrace, A. J. (September 5, 2017). "The Loop's Randolph/Wabash station is now permanently closed". Curbed Chicago. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
External links
edit
Media related to Washington/Wabash station at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Washington/Wabash at Chicago-L.org