Riley Construction: Full steam ahead on new Skokie CTA station

Contact:

Scott Gurholt

Riley Construction Company

262-658-4381

scottg@rileycon.com

KENOSHA, Wis. – The construction of the new Oakton Street the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Yellow line, aka Skokie Swift, is in full swing. Village of Skokie construction manager Riley Construction is leading the effort to bring downtown rail transit service back to Skokie. Features will include:

* Entrances from Oakton Street and from Skokie Boulevard near Searle Parkway, including Customer Assistant kiosks, turnstiles and farecard vending machines

* Wide platform with full canopy coverage

* ADA-compliant accessibility features, including ramps to each entrance

* New signage, including Braille

* Bicycle parking

* Security cameras

The original Oakton Station was a rapid transit station on the CTA’s Niles Center Route, serving Skokie’s downtown. It opened in 1925 and was closed, along with other stops, in 1948 to accommodate a shift in service.

The station will be the first new stop added since the route opened by CTA in 1964 as the “Skokie Swift” and will provide easy rapid transit access to downtown Skokie and the Illinois Science + Technology Park. It is located on the site of the original station, just west of Skokie Boulevard, between Oakton Street and Searle Parkway.

This “kiss and ride” facility is estimated to see 1,200 boardings each day. The $20 million project is expected to be completed by fall of 2011. Chicago-based McDonough Associates Inc. is serving as the designer.

Riley Construction is no stranger to rail station construction having delivered the award-winning new Amtrak Station in the Village of Sturtevant, Wis. The Victorian style structure is a widely-recognized signature station along Amtrak’s Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee. This unique construction project features twin towers housing elevators inside, and a pedestrian bridge that spans the track to allow passengers to freely and safely cross between the main station and the north-south commuter loading platforms.

More recently, Riley Construction provided preconstruction estimating services for the renovation and restoration of the historic downtown Metra station in Kenosha, Wis. The pre-Civil War era train station went under several renovation efforts throughout the years, leaving a mix of architectural styles draping the building. Over the past decade, with the development of Harbor Park, has seen a dramatic influx of Illinois residents moving to downtown Kenosha and equally an increase in ridership on the line that provides a direct link to Chicago’s Loop – the second largest downtown business district in the United States.

About Riley Construction

One of the largest construction management and general construction firms in northern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin, averaging more than $107 million in annual volume, Riley Construction is headquartered in Kenosha, Wis., with permanent offices located in Milwaukee and Lake Bluff, Ill. As one of the leading construction services firms in the region, Riley Construction was recently ranked among the top Midwest companies by Midwest Construction magazine, including no. 11 in Government Building construction in 2010. Riley Construction provides construction management, preconstruction, design/build and general contracting services across a wide range of markets, including health care, municipal, commercial, industrial, public/recreation and education. Projects include new, expansion, renovation and restoration projects for a variety of building types and uses.