Cumberland (CTA Station) - History

History

The extension of the CTA line in the Kennedy Expressway from Jefferson Park to O'Hare Airport, which included the construction of the Cumberland station, was first proposed to Mayor Richard J. Daley in 1972 by the Chicago Public Works Commission. The cost of this project was initially estimated at $80 million. The Chicago Plan Commission approved the project on August 8, 1974; by this point, the estimated cost of the project had risen to $174 million. The federal government approved the project and agreed to provide 80 percent of the funds for its construction in 1978, and construction on the 7.6-mile (12.2 km) extension began in March 1980. The extension was originally planned to open in 1982; however, its opening was delayed after a series of incidents including two strikes by workers on the line. The section of the extension from Jefferson Park to Rosemont, including Cumberland, ultimately opened on February 27, 1983; the CTA ran free shuttle trains between the new stations at Rosemont, and Harlem the day before their opening so riders could "get acquainted" with the new line. The final cost of the extension was $198.9 million, with the Cumberland station costing approximately $10 million.

In the month following the opening of the three new stations 6,000 additional commuters used the northwest service. The Cumberland station became particularly attractive to suburban commuters from Des Plaines and Park Ridge; a study commissioned shortly after the station's opening found that only 12.4% of commuters parking in the Cumberland and Rosemont stations were Chicagoans. The influx of suburban commuters to the new Blue Line stops led to a fall in ridership on the Chicago & Northwestern's Northwest Line, which traditionally served the northwest suburbs near the new stops.