Forest Park residents looking out their windows will not have to see the rusted and unused water tower on CTA property much longer.
Village Administrator Rachell Entler confirmed that CTA officials will start the project to remove the water tower in the Harlem Avenue railyard in the fall.
Located at the northeast corner of Forest Park, 1 S. Harlem Ave., the Harlem Avenue railyard is used to store and service the CTA trains at the west end of the Green Line. Complaints about the rusted water tower from Forest Park and neighboring River Forest go back to the early 2000s, but while the CTA officials indicated over the years that they intended to remove it, there has been little progress until now.
According to Entler, the project has moved to the construction phase with Granite Construction, the contractor, being issued a notice-to-proceed effective Jan. 25. According to the high-level schedule, some preparatory work will begin this month or in April for staging in the north parking lot and the main parking lot and some preliminary utility work at track level within the yard vicinity will also take place. CTA officials are currently projecting the 16-day yard shutdown for heavy construction work starting in early or mid-May through end of May or early June, she added, noting that the schedule is pending approval of some construction process plans and other submittal items.
Although CTA officials said previously that the agency did not have sufficient funds to cover the cost of the project, Entler said the CTA has since received funding to remove the water tower. She said the project cost had been estimated to be $175,000 but could be higher.
The transit agency had wanted to remove the tower as part of the larger renovation of the Harlem yard, which hasn’t seen significant modifications since it was completed in 1967. The Harlem railyard was built in 1963-1967, after CTA raised the suburban portion of what is now the Green Line onto the current embankment. The water tower was initially used to supply water to fire suppression sprinklers and railcar-washing equipment. But, as the decades wore on, the tower rusted and fell into disuse.
During the past two decades, Forest Park businesses and residents have increasingly complained about the rusty eyesore as have those in River Forest, which is located immediately north of the train embankment.
Correction, March 20, 2024, 8:45 p.m.: As a result of incorrect information provided to the reporter, the article misstated when the project will begin. It is the fall, not the spring. We apologize for the error.