State/Lake L station closing until 2029 for $444M rebuild

One of the Loop’s oldest and busiest elevated stations is about to be out of commission for three years.

The CTA State/Lake station is set to close Jan. 5 for demolition, city officials announced Thursday. The $444-million reconstruction project won’t be completed until sometime in 2029.

Trains will bypass the station for the duration of the work. The station, built in 1895, serves the Brown, Green, Orange, Pink and Purple lines. The adjacent Red Line subway station at Lake Street won’t be affected.

The planned station will feature platforms that are twice as wide, new elevators for full ADA accessibility, a glass canopy and improved lighting and visibility.

The design of the project, led by the Chicago Department of Transportation, was released in 2021. At the time, the city pegged the total cost at $180 million. But the price tag has since ballooned to $444 million, a CDOT spokesperson said Thursday.

The city has been working on the project for some time. In 2017, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration announced a $56 million federal grant to fund a station rebuild. Back then, the city estimated the project would cost more than $75 million, then the price of the Washington/Wabash station rebuild.

Demolition will affect traffic around State and Lake.

Lake Street will be closed to vehicle traffic intermittently starting Dec. 8 to prepare the site for demolition, the city said. Once the station closes, Lake Street will be limited to local traffic between Dearborn Street and Wabash Avenue.

Traffic lanes will also shift on State Street.

The existing southbound closure of State Street will be extended from Wacker Drive to Washington Street. Northbound State Street will have its lanes reopened to alleviate congestion issues.

Sidewalks on Lake Street and State Street will remain open to pedestrians, officials said.

For more information about the project and to sign up for updates, visit www.statelakestation.org.