BLOG
- Categories
Site Constraints!
Muller+Muller (M+M) is currently working $25.6 million dollar renovation of the Addison, Irving Park, Montrose, Harlem, and Cumberland Stations on CTA’s Blue Line O’Hare Branch. M+M was retained by the general contracting firm of F.H. Paschen to serve as the project’s Design Prime on this design-build contract.
The project includes major accessibility upgrades of the Addison Station, including the addition of a new elevator tower, and stair. Originally constructed in 1970, the existing site presented a number of complex constraints that required thoughtful design considerations. The station platform is located in a narrow median strip, in the middle of a 10-lane expressway – the busiest expressway in the Chicago region. The station geometry is further complicated with the platform located within a compound curve section of track, with absolutely no additional room to spare within CTA’s existing Right-of-Way.
The existing center platform is a mere 12-feet in width which necessitated that the vertical elements be placed in a stacked arrangement (elevator, escalator, and stair). M+M worked closely with the elevator sub-contractor to minimize the width of the hoistway, while simultaneously respecting critical dynamic train clearances and complying with ADA code required elevator cab clearances. Fighting for every available inch, a minimal metal panel enclosure was designed for the exterior tower cladding, along with 1-inch thick interior elevator cab walls.
On a typical weekday 7,500 passengers board and alight at the Addison Station alone, with CTA providing 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a -week train service to the station. Working closely with our Construction Contractor Partner, M+M developed phasing drawings to minimize impacts to CTA’s operations.
Check out more about CTA’s “Your New Blue” program at their website, here.
Check out Chicago-L.org for a detailed history of the station, here.