Green and Pink Line trains stay out of the Loop past Wednesday as Lake Street bridge work runs long

CTA Green and Pink Line trains will not return to their regular routes through the Loop on Wednesday as planned, because reconstruction of the Lake Street bridge over the Chicago River needs more time, the Chicago Department of Transportation said Tuesday.^{3, 4, 5} The CTA now says service across the bridge will resume “later this week,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.³

It is the second extension.^{3, 4} Full service had first been due to resume Monday morning, and on Sunday CDOT pushed that back to 4 a.m. Wednesday.^{1, 2, 3} CDOT said it will announce a specific completion date and time once it is confirmed, CBS Chicago reported.⁴ “CDOT apologizes to transit riders for the added delay and inconvenience,” the department said, according to CBS.⁴

The bridge carries Green and Pink Line tracks into the Loop, according to Block Club Chicago.¹ The work includes replacing the bridge’s west leaf, its deck and the CTA tracks, the Sun-Times reported.^{3, 5}

CDOT said the delay came from the complexity of connecting a new section of the bridge to the existing structure.^{1, 2} CBS Chicago reported that the department also cited alignment problems that crews had not expected.²

How riders get downtown for now

Green Line trains are not running between the Clinton and Clark/Lake stations, and shuttle buses cover that stretch.^{1, 2} The line is running in two pieces: a western section along Lake Street between Harlem/Lake and Clinton, and a southern section that serves Ashland/63rd and Cottage Grove.^{1, 2}

Southern-section trains bound for downtown follow the same direction around the Loop as Orange Line trains, stop at every Loop station and then head back south, according to CBS Chicago.²

Pink Line trains are not running in the Loop at all.^{1, 2} Riders headed downtown are told to transfer to the Blue Line at the Racine station.^{1, 2} Block Club pointed riders to the CTA’s website for details.¹ CTA detours in the Loop remain in effect through Wednesday, NBC Chicago reported.⁵

A separate weekend shutdown ended as planned

All CTA train service in the Loop was suspended over the weekend for track and interlocking work at the junction near Wells and Lake streets, Block Club and CBS reported.^{1, 2} Block Club described that junction as one of the country’s busiest rail interlockings.¹ Unlike the bridge work, that shutdown was scheduled to end on time, at 4 a.m. Monday.^{1, 2}

The bridge project

The Green and Pink Line disruption began Tuesday, Oct. 13, according to CBS Chicago.² The Lake Street bridge has been closed to cars and pedestrians for about a year for a major reconstruction, and it will stay closed to them until January 2028 even after trains return.^{1, 2, 3}

The current disruption is not the last planned one.¹ Another two-week Green and Pink Line outage is planned for the spring, Block Club reported.¹