Clark to Rehabilitate Three Chicago Rail Substations

CHICAGO – Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has awarded Clark a $25.6 million design-build contract for the Kimball, Princeton, and State Substations Rehabilitation project in Chicago. The project will improve service and reliability for customers by upgrading the equipment that provides power to CTA’s Red Line via the Princeton substation, located on West 63rd Street, and the State substation, located in the Loop neighborhood. Upgrades also will be made to the Kimball substation, which provides power to CTA’s Brown Line. Additionally, the project scope includes rehabilitating and upgrading the substation buildings. Service will be maintained during construction.

Clark, along with design-build partner Parsons Transportation Group, will make improvements to the exterior of the substations by replacing roofs, upgrading masonry, and weather proofing the exterior. Interior upgrades include the installation of new doors and louvers, flooring, painting, as well as the ventilation and house electrical systems. Clark and Parsons also will manage the abatement of PCB, lead, and asbestos at all three substations.

Clark will work in partnership with Aldridge Electric to rehabilitate electrical and communications systems, replace AC/DC conversion equipment, and add new cables and switches to increase power to key areas. The project also will increase the electrical power capacity at both the State and Kimball substations by twenty percent. Provisions for supplemental ventilation, heating, and cooling will be made throughout the project to ensure the electrical equipment is operational at all times and protected from water and debris infiltration.

Design is underway and construction will begin in May 2014. The substantial completion of all three substations is scheduled for November 2015.