Pulaski (CTA Orange Line)

Pulaski   4000W 5100S
Location	5106 South Pulaski Road Chicago, Illinois 60632
Coordinates	41°47′59″N 87°43′28″W / 41.799756°N 87.724493°W / 41.799756; -87.724493
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	Orange Line
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	CTA buses
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	390 Spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	October 31, 1993
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	1,592,814  3.4%
Rank	45 out of 143
Services
Preceding station   Chicago "L"   Following station Midway Branch Midway Terminus Orange Line Kedzie toward Loop (State/Van Buren) Orange Line Rush period special (7-9 a.m.) Kedzie One-way operation Midway  One-way operation Orange Line Rush period special (5-7 a.m.) Kedzie toward Kimball

Pulaski is an elevated station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system. Pulaski serves the Orange Line, which runs between Midway Airport and The Loop; it is situated between Midway and Kedzie stations. Pulaski is located at Pulaski Road and 51st Street on the Southwest Side of Chicago, Illinois. The station is within the Archer Heights neighborhood, which is both residential and commercial, and the station itself is in a commercial district on Pulaski Road. Pulaski opened on October 31, 1993, the opening date of the Orange Line.

The Pulaski station was proposed in 1980 and constructed from 1987 to 1993. When the station opened in 1993, it spurred commercial development in the surrounding area and led to a parking controversy on nearby residential streets. Pulaski consists of an elevated island platform above a station house which is set back from Pulaski Road. The station also includes a bus terminal and a park and ride lot. Nearly 1.4 million passengers boarded Orange Line trains at Pulaski in 2010. Trains serve Pulaski approximately every ten minutes during rush hour but are less frequent at other times. In addition to offering train service, Pulaski also connects to several CTA bus routes.

The Orange Line, including the Pulaski station, was first proposed in 1980 by Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne, who planned to fund the line using money from the cancelled Crosstown Expressway project. U.S. Representative William Lipinski secured federal funding for the line in 1986 as a political favor from President Ronald Reagan, and Chicago Mayor Harold Washington signed a federal funding contract later that year. Construction began on the line in 1987 and was completed in 1993; the total cost of the line was $500 million. The Pulaski station was built over an abandoned Belt Railway of Chicago line which ran from 49th Street to Midway Airport. Pulaski, along with the rest of the Orange Line, opened on October 31, 1993. The CTA only charged riders 25 cents during the station's first three days of service, which were considered a test run of the line.