The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) issued a reminder today that the first lane closures as part of the Loop Link project are scheduled to take effect early Monday, March 16, before the morning rush.

The Loop Link project is designed to modernize the Loop’s transit infrastructure and make bus travel faster and more reliable for the roughly 30,000 bus commuters that travel across the corridor and at Union Station each day, and provide a balanced separation of bus, bike and regular traffic lanes.

Construction on the Loop Link will begin with lane closures early Monday, initially on westbound Madison Street from State Street to Clark Street, and on southbound Clinton from Randolph to Jackson. Construction is scheduled to start later this spring on eastbound Washington at Canal and northbound Canal at Van Buren.

Streets under construction will be reduced to two lanes during weekday business hours. There will be the need for periodic additional lane closures overnight and on weekends.

People driving downtown can expect delays in areas where lanes are reduced to two lanes and motorists are sharing lanes with buses during construction. Although no detours are planned and all garages and alleys will remain accessible, those driving should allow extra time when traveling through the construction zone and should consider using alternate routes through the Loop.

The Loop Link project is scheduled for substantial completion by the end of 2015.

Also, work has begun in preparation for the construction of a new Washington-Wabash CTA station to replace two century-old stations at Madison and Randolph with a single modern, fully accessible station. As part of this project, the station at Madison and Wabash is being closed for service on Monday before the morning rush. CTA customers can use the Randolph/Wabash and Adams/Wabash stations, both two blocks away.

In addition, Wabash has been fully closed between Washington and Madison for the duration of the Washington-Wabash station project, which is scheduled to last 18 months. There are also lane reductions in place for the duration of the project on Wabash from Randolph to Washington and on Wabash from Madison to Monroe.

Improvements being installed as part of the Loop Link include: red-colored pavement and enhanced signage clearly delineating the bus lanes; raised boarding platforms at eight, spacious new stations with large canopies for protection from the elements on Washington and Madison to provide easier level-boarding; early green lights for buses at key intersections to get ahead of traffic; bus tracker screens, and generous amounts of seating for waiting customers.

More than 1,000 bus trips will traverse the Loop Link each day. The buses on the Loop Link serve a number of Chicago neighborhoods, including South Shore, Little Village, Austin and Logan Square to name a few, and the services make critical links to Union Station, Ogilvie Transportation Center, CTA subways and Navy Pier.

For more information on the Loop Link, go to www.ChicagoLoopLink.com