“The station isn’t accessible to folks in wheelchairs, and we are trying to make it accessible for all our transit riders,” said Anne Zhang, Deputy Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Transportation Division of Engineering.

The platforms will receive a facelift that designers say will improve safety and add comfort to riders.

“If you see the station now, you see it has these very narrow platforms you can barely get by,” said Scott Duncan, partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. “January you are out on the platform it’s just freezing so this idea of having a more enclosed weather protective space is fundamental.”

The project is expected to be completed by 2029, meaning people who live or commute to and from the Loop will have to use nearby train stations.

“I’ll probably just go to the Red Line,” commuter Ben Axelrod said. “It’s going to be a little longer, like 10 minutes maybe, just with my walk. It’s going to be interesting.”

Once the station closes, Lake Street will be limited to local traffic only between Dearborn and Wabash.

“It will be worth it in the end I think,” commuter Samantha Calistri said. “I mean if you’ve seen the pictures of what it’s supposed to look like, it’s beautiful. But definitely will be a bit inconvenient for the next couple of years.”