Street Closures Around Wilson L For Next Two Weeks As New Tracks Are Constructed

A nice view of the old tracks alongside the new ones being constructed south of Wilson.
You can see more of the Sunnyside area construction here.
Thanks to reader James Adgate, who shared his album with us. 

What came down, must go up. The massive Wilson L project has moved from destruction to construction, at least in regards to the first set of tracks, which were demolished between Sunnyside and Leland this past spring and summer. Now the new tracks are being built, and yes, there will be street closures.

CTA tells us that caissons will be installed around the station beginning Tuesday, September 8th. Caissons are support structures put into the ground to bear the weight of the columns that will hold up the new tracks. So it will be noisy, dirty and loud around the station for a couple weeks because they will be drilling into the ground, but eyes on the prize: New station. No support columns in the street when it's all done.

Here's the schedule and the closures.

September 8 through September 18 (Caisson drilling):

• Leland and Broadway. Work will go on between 7am and 5pm. The first area they will work on will be the southeast corner of Broadway and Leland, where the food mart is. Leland between Winthrop and Broadway will be closed for the duration of the work, and Broadway will be partially closed.
• Broadway and Clifton.  After the Broadway/Leland drilling is done, they will move slightly south on Broadway, across from Clifton (approximately where the empty Style House storefront is, near Uptown Bikes).  There will be a full closure at Broadway and Clifton. CTA says, "The closure and construction activity will start at 7am and end at 5pm. Flaggers will be in place to allow emergency vehicles in/out of Clifton and Broadway. At the end of the work day, Clifton and Broadway will be re-opened. The next day at 7am, the closure will begin and end at 5pm. This will continue until the work is complete."

September 14 through September 18 (Steel construction):

• Wilson between Broadway and Clifton.  The street will be closed to vehicular traffic, but there will be at least one sidewalk open for pedestrians.  The Wilson station entrance will remain open, but the #78 bus will be rerouted and will not stop at Wilson.  CTA says:  "Intermittently throughout September 14th ONLY, pedestrians will not be able to cross while steel is being lifted. This will take 10-15 minutes each time steel is being lifted. This will only take place on September 14th. Pedestrians will be able to cross the rest of the week without any issues."

Here's what they're working toward -- a new track over Broadway with no support pillars in the street:

After they've accomplished that, the remaining tracks and metal pillars, which date back to 1907, will come down and Broadway will be sunnier, wider, and obstruction-free.