July 10th , 2003
By Malavika
Jagannathan
Daily Northwestern
Evanston,
IL - Although the Chicago Transit Authority made a commitment in its
capital improvement program to replace six of Evanston's viaducts on
the El's Purple Line, the lack of funds will only allow it to fix
one viaduct.
The
preliminary work to replace the viaduct at Main Street is currently
in process, said Robyn Ziegler, a CTA spokeswoman. But with CTA
facing $1.9 billion in unmet need for capital improvement, the other
five viaducts will have to wait for more funding before they can be
fixed.
In 2001 CTA
ranked the 114 viaducts that compose its system. Of the 15 viaducts
given a rating of "one" -- those in the poorest condition -- six are
in Evanston.
The
remaining nine viaducts are located on the Red Line in Chicago.
CTA then
made a commitment to replacing Evanston's viaducts in its capital
improvement programs but has so far only started work on Main
Street.
"It is
critical for the CTA to implement an aggressive plan and fulfill its
commitment in dollars to help minimize the potential safety risks
these viaducts present to motorists, pedestrians and CTA riders,"
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said in a press release.
The Purple
Line, which serves Evanston and Wilmette, has the oldest viaducts in
the system, dating back nearly 50 years.
For some
CTA riders who use the buses and trains everyday, safety is the most
important concern.
"I ride the
CTA often," Chicago resident David Anderson said. "I think they
ought to fix (the viaducts) so that no accidents occur."
Anderson
added that even though the El is convenient for him, old lines tend
to slow down trains and delay the schedule.
"Fixing
them will help people get back to work or to home faster," Anderson
said.
Despite
CTA's budgetary troubles, some riders said they feel CTA has the
money to repair the older lines, especially since CTA has been in
the process of renovating other lines.
"We pay
enough for the service," Evanston resident Sandra Maris said. "They
should have at least enough to get the bridges fixed the proper
way."
According
to Ziegler, CTA is in the process of getting local and national
legislators involved in obtaining more funding for the capital
improvement program.
In a letter
to Schakowsky, CTA President Frank Kruesi said work on the remaining
five viaducts will begin as soon as the additional funding becomes
available.
But Kruesi
added continued funding for the project is uncertain since federal
and state sources are experiencing fiscal difficulties.
In 2002,
when the CTA system was re-evaluated, repair and replacement of
viaducts was a small part of the overall maintenance program, which
also includes replacing tracks and signals.
For
everyday riders of the CTA system, which serves about 1.5 million
customers per day, waiting for repairs also means waiting for
service.
"My
constituents are facing a dangerous and serious public safety every
day the CTA delays action to renovate viaducts in Evanston,"
Schakowsky said in her press release.
Although
Chicago resident Glory Hodges said she is satisfied with CTA's
overall service, she said using the Purple Line some times is
challenging.
"I ride it
every day and the service is good," Hodges said. "But then some
days, like today, we have a lot of delays."
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