House and Building Moves- CTA Brown Line Stations

The Chicago Transit Authority's Brown Line Train is one of their busiest rail lines. Each workday, their ridership is 66,000, prompting the CTA to expand the line and perform upgrades. The expansion includes the rehabilitation of 18 Brown Line Stations, lengthening station platforms to accommodate eight-car trains, and the enhancement of stations to meet accessibility requirements for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) among other upgrades

Two of the eighteen stations (Belmont and Fullerton) needed to be relocated to temporary storage for approximately one year. Once track work was completed, the stations were to be moved across the street to their permanent sites. The construction schedule was very tight, requiring round-the-clock work. Both pedestrian and automotive traffic heavily congests the area, so nightly road and public way closures would take place.

Handling these two 1920s buildings was not a problem. They are quite small, measuring approximately 27'x27' and weighing 80 tons. No, the problem was the extremely close quarters. Before the buildings were raised, only five inches separated their roofs from the rails. Side clearance was also slim, allowing just mere inches in either direction. Because of these sweat-inducing factors, our firm was chosen to provide the relocation work.

CTA Brown Line Pictures- some photos have a caption beneath them.

The night shift.

It's ready to go.

CTA 3

Who put that bridge beam in the way?

A 150-ton crane is holding up the tracks.

Yeah, everything sure is in the way. The new bridge beam clears the building by only 1/2"! No problem, though. Notice the sling holding the tracks.

Looking good.

No problems.

Almost out.

What a crowded place!

Going back under the trans on the north side of the street.

 

 

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