CTA Brown Line flyover just opened in November; why is concrete falling?
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Brown Line flyover north of Belmont Avenue was touted as an important part of a multibillion-dollar upgrade for the Chicago Transit Authority - so why is there crumbling concrete on the sides of the tracks just a few months after completion?
CBS 2's Tim McNicholas went to Lakeview this week to expose the taxpayer-funded decay.
It was a picture-perfect moment in 2019, as elected leaders broke ground on a the multibillion-dollar overhaul of the CTA Red and Purple lines – including the Red-Purple Bypass, also called the Belmont Flyover, for Brown Line trains.
The idea was to eliminate the need for northbound Brown Line tracks to cross over the Red and Purple line tracks when they turn from a northward route just east of Sheffield Avenue to a westward route just north of Roscoe Street.
"This bypass will carry northbound Brown Line trains up and over Red and Purple line tracks, eliminating the need for other trains to stop and wait for other trains to cross," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at the time.
That bypass was just completed in November of last year in Phase One of the Red-Purple Modernization Project.
But just a few months later, there are problems.
"Concrete is cracking already," said Timothy Sable.
Sable, a commuter, was concerned to see missing concrete and exposed rebar alongside the tracks. He later got on a Zoom call to tell us what he saw.
"There's literally cars below this and there's and traffic, so if there's concrete falling, it's going to hit some car or pedestrian below that," Sable said.
That was right at Sheffield Avenue and Roscoe Street, where we counted seven spots where concrete is missing.
We spotted the same problem a couple blocks away at School Street and Wilton Avenue, where there at least 10 chunks of concrete missing – four of them right over School Street.
"I guess I just wonder what the review process is for new construction like this," said Lakeview resident Nichole Herenden.
"So it's definitely something I'm worried about," said Lakeview resident Andrew Fisher. "I want them to figure it out."
But a CTA spokesperson calls it a cosmetic issue caused by winter weather.
They say it's not a structural problem, and the CTA and the contractor Walsh-Fluor have "mitigated the risk of falling concrete with daily inspections," and by removing any "spalling materials" - in other words, pieces at risk of falling.
But Sable's concerns aren't crumbling.
"I mean, this is brand new construction," Sable said.
The CTA says contractor Walsh-Fluor, will repair those spots this spring and summer at no cost to the CTA.