Chicago: 'So far, so good' on first weekday of Red Line shutdown

By Jon Hilkevitch and Rachael Levy

Tribune reporters
5:33 p.m. CDT, May 20, 2013


Commuting on the South Side changed fundamentally Monday. Yet at the same time, nothing changed.

CTA Red Line trains were absent from the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway for the first weekday since the south branch opened almost 44 years ago, except for a short disruption during the blizzard of 1979 and a two-day strike later that year, transit officials said.

But as a five-month, $425 million track-replacement project began this week on the Red Line south, making transit connections to get to work or school on time and, above all, staying safe remain constant concerns for riders. To that end, the number of Chicago police officers and CTA employees wearing orange vests seemed to rival at certain times and locations the number of commuters boarding and exiting free shuttle buses or waiting for trains on rail platforms. ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-cta-red-line-shutdown-20130520,0,3974805.story