New 41st Street Bridge Project Will Affect Metra Electric Line

CHICAGO, IL – Some trains on the Metra Electric line will not make stops at certain stations and others may be delayed Saturday night and Sunday morning to accommodate a city of Chicago construction project at 41st Street, Metra announced in a news release this week.

Trains on the line will not stop at the Van Buren Street, Museum Campus, McCormick Place, 27th Street or 47th Street stations between midnight and 6 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4. Trains operating between 10:40 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday may also experience delays, according to the rail service.

Inbound Train 8338, the 11:39 p.m. South Chicago (93rd Street) departure and outbound Train 8337, the 10:40 p.m. Millennium Station departure, will be canceled Saturday night. On Sunday morning, inbound Train 8302, the 5:39 a.m. South Chicago (93rd Street) departure and outbound Train 8301, the 4:40 a.m. departure from Millennium Station will also be canceled.

On Saturday night, free shuttle buses will be used between Millennium Station and the 51st/53rd Street Station for customers using outbound Metra Train 839 and outbound NICTD Train 601. The shuttle bus will board at the CTA stop located on the west side of Michigan Avenue between Washington and Randolph streets. It will express to the 51st/53rd Street Station, where customers will transfer to trains making all regularly scheduled stops.

Customers who use inbound Train 838, the 11:40 p.m. University Park departure or NICTD Train 510 will be bused from the 51st/53rd Street Station to Millennium Station. This shuttle bus will board at the northeast corner of 51st Street and Lake Park Avenue and will not stop at intermediate stations.

The schedule changes are called to allow for Chicago Department of Transportation crews to install metal support beams over the Metra tracks for a new pedestrian and bike bridge that will cross over Lake Shore Drive and the Metra tracks at 41st Street.

Trains on the Metra Electric line are powered by overhead lines and those lines will need to be shut down while CDOT installs the beams. During the effected time, Metra will provide shuttle service via CTA buses between Millennium Station and the 51st/53rd Street Station for some trains.

Metra's Electric line runs between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and southeast suburban University Park. It has stops in Harvey, Dolton, Blue Island and the South Side of Chicago.

Photo via Patch archive