Chicago Central Area Transit Plan - New Horizons For Chicago Metropolitan Area (1958)

New Horizons For Chicago Metropolitan Area (1958)

The next major step in the development of downtown subways in Chicago came in January 1958, when the Chicago Transit Authority proposed the New Horizons for Chicago's Metropolitan Area, a $315 million, 20-year rapid transit improvement and expansion program to be carried out once financial arrangements had been made. The program was divide into three principal categories:

1. Construction of Rapid Transit Subways and Extensions

• West Side Subway - billed as America's first expressway median rapid transit line, opened June 22, 1958 through March 20, 1960, connecting with the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway and extends west to Des Plaines Avenue, Forest Park. Estimated cost was $41,636,000.

• Northwest Rapid Transit - Extension from Logan Square "L"-Subway route northward between Talman and Rockwell Avenues to the Northwest Expressway and then northwest in expressway right-of-way to a terminal at the City Limits northwest, and in the future, to O'Hare International Airport. Estimated cost, $31,000,000.

• South Side Rapid Transit - Construction of a rapid transit route in the South Expressway from 30th Street to 103rd Street on the Calumet branch of the Expressway, and to 119th Street on the Blue Island branch, with a connection to the Englewood "L" branch at 59th Street. Estimated cost, $31,750,000.

• Southwest Rapid Transit - Construction of exclusive bus-lanes in the median of the Southwest Expressway from a connection with the South Expressway near Halsted Street and Cermak Road to Cicero Avenue. Estimated cost, $7,000,000.

• Wells Street Subway - Construction of a new north-south subway through the central business district in Wells Street from a connection with the North Side "L" structure near Chicago Avenue to a connection with the proposed South Expressway median rapid transit line near 30th Street. Estimated cost, $25,000,000.

• Jackson Boulevard Subway - Construction of an east-west subway in Jackson Boulevard from a connection with the West Side Subway near Halsted Street to a terminal loop in Grant Park. Estimated cost, $20,000,000.

• Washington Street Subway - Construction a bus subway in Washington Street between Canal Street and Michigan Avenue. Estimated cost, $15,000,000.

• Lake Street Routing via West Side Subway - Construction of a connection between the Lake Street rapid transit route and the West Side Subway, via Belt Railroad right-of-way adjacent to the railroad embankment. Estimated cost, $3,500,000.

• Englewood-Clearing Extension - Extension of the Englewood rapid transit branch west from 63rd & Loomis to 63rd & Cicero. Estimated cost, $20,500,000.

• California-Western Rapid Transit - Construction of a rapid transit line in the median of the proposed Cross-Town Expressway from a connection with the Northwest Expressway to a connection with the proposed Englewood branch extension. Estimated cost, $14,000,000.

2. Modernization of Existing Rapid Transit Facilities

• Loomis Station - shortly before the New Horizons plan was published, CTA completed this project which provided a speed ramp. Approximate cost, $33,000.

• Randolph/Wabash Station - around the time of this program, CTA and Marshall Field & Company had completed modernization of this Loop station with a station house and improved lighting. Approximate cost, $40,000.

• Four-Track Structure through Wilson Station Area - Construction of two additional tracks in this area to eliminate a bottleneck that severely handicapped train operations. Estimated cost, $1,800,000.

• Signal & Train Control Systems for Unsignaled Areas - Signal and train control facilities for a major part of the rapid transit system which was urgently needed to improve the safety in operations. Estimated cost, $28,000,000.

• Lake Street Elevation and Extension - Elevation of the ground-level section of the Lake Street rapid transit route between Laramie Avenue, Chicago and Harlem Avenue, Forest Park, using a part of the elevated right-of-way of the Chicago and North Western Railway. Estimated cost, $4,000,000, to be shared as follows: State of Illinois, $1,000,000; Oak Park, $800,000; City of Chicago, $600,000; Cook County, $1,000,000; CTA, $600,000. Future extension to Des Plaines River, estimated cost, $3,500,000.

• Forest Park Terminal - Construction of yard and terminal facilities at Des Plaines Avenue, Forest Park for West Side Subway (completed between 1962 and 1964); included maintenance, transportation buildings and parking facilities. Estimated cost, $4,000,000.

• Logan Square Terminal - Expansion of the passenger interchange facilities at the former Logan Square terminal of the Northwest Line. Estimated cost, $75,000. This project was completed shortly after the plan was published, but was ultimately demolished in 1969 for the Kennedy Extension.

• Howard Street Terminal - Construction of off-the-street bus-rapid transit passenger interchange facilities, and a parking lot at Howard Street terminal of the North-South and Evanston rapid transit lines. Estimated cost, $500,000.

• Easing Sharp Curves - Widening or lengthening of sharp curves on the elevated system which hinders the speed potential of modern rapid transit cars. Estimated cost of eliminating sharp curves, $6,400,000.

• Modernization of Substations - As reported in the plan, several CTA traction power substations were outmoded and costly to operate and planned to be converted to automatic operation. Estimated cost was $23,152,500.

• Ravenswood Route Grade Separation - Elevation of the ground-level section of the Ravenswood rapid transit route, between Rockwell Avenue and the terminal at Kimball & Lawrence. Estimated cost, $4,750,000.

• Ravenswood Terminal Modernization - Extensive modernization of the out-moded Kimball/Lawrence terminal to improve passenger facilities and train operation. Estimated cost, $350,000.

• Douglas Park Extension and Grade Separation - Elevated and open-cut grade separation of the ground-level section of the Douglas rapid transit branch, between Keeler Avenue, Chicago, and 56th Avenue, Cicero, and extension westward to Harlem Avenue; construct yard facilities and install signal system. Estimated cost, $20,000,000.

3. Rolling Stock Required for the Extensions

For these proposed extensions and additions to CTA's rapid transit system, an estimated total of $35,500,000 in rolling stock would be required as follows: Northwest rapid transit extension, $7,500,000; Lake Street elevation and extension, $1,000,000; South Side rapid transit, $12,750,000; Southwest bus rapid transit extension, $630,000; Douglas Park elevation and extension, $1,500,000; Englewood-Clearing extension, $3,120,000; and the Crosstown extension, $9,000,000.

The Result

The plan of expanded transit facilities would have undoubtedly benefited the whole Chicago metropolitan area. Many of the projects were basically completed, namely the extension of the West Side Subway (Congress Line) in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway (in operation June 22, 1958), Lake Street Elevation (in operation October 28, 1962), a part of the Englewood rapid transit extension (to Ashland/63rd, in operation May 6, 1969), the Dan Ryan rapid transit line (in operation September 28, 1969), the Kennedy and O'Hare rapid transit extensions (in operation February 1, 1970, completed September 3, 1984), massive signal and train control system improvements between 1967 and 1976, and the Southwest rapid transit extension, built in the form of the Midway Line (in operation October 31, 1993). Rolling stock and equipment improvements were made between 1964 and 1992 with the delivery of the High Performance Generation cars (the 2000-Series, 2200-Series, 2400-Series, 2600-Series, and 3200-Series). Modernization of many traction power substations, and remodeling of several outlying terminal stations were also completed. Some curve straightening projects were also completed such as the 2002-built Harrison Street Curve on the Green and Orange Lines, although most were not.

Only the proposed Wells Street Subway and the Jackson Street Subway in the Central Area, would have made possible the removal of the Loop and adjacent elevated structures.