Chicago Central Area Transit Plan

The Chicago Central Area Transit Plan, or generally referred to as the Chicago Central Area Transit Project (CCATP) in the 1970s, was an extensive study of the rapid transit system in downtown Chicago; the study had begun in 1965.

In April 1968, the completed study resulted in a three-volume report that proposed a series of recommendations for redeveloping and expanding Central Area communities, and for the replacement of The Loop elevated rapid transit system with a new Loop Subway under Randolph, Franklin, Van Buren, and Wabash, and a new Distributor Subway system in downtown Chicago (see Chicago "L").

Volume 1 of the three-volume report presented proposals resulting from the study as well as analyses of the various background reports that influenced such proposals. Also included were estimates of usage of the new subway system along with projections of probable economic and social benefits. Aesthethic considerations, construction scheduling and cost estimated were presented.

Volume 2 included detailed preliminary plans, architectural, and engineering drawings, which were to be the basis for construction contracts for the proposed Loop and Distributor Subway systems.

Volume 3 detailed supplemental data gathered during the study phases.

Throughout its entire life, the two-mile (3 km), double track Loop Elevated in Chicago's Central Area has coexisted with strong pressures, political and civic, to do away with it in favor of new downtown subways.

The Union Loop Elevated has remained, however, virtually and placidly what it has been since its early days in the late 1890s to the present. Its trackage has been reworked to accommodate changing operational modes. Stations have been added, lengthened, consolidated and eliminated in response to changing riding habits. While no major alterations have been made during its lifetime, minor changes have been made at the stations to improve passenger flow, accessibility, and weather protection. These modifications have added Monel metal and fiberglass to the basic wood and steel construction and have replaced some of the original ornamentation.

Only one station has been rebuilt within the past twenty years (at Clark/Lake) and several have been replaced with new stations (Library-State/Van Buren and Washington/Wells) in compliance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements.

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