Orange Line Extension to Begin Move Forward

By Prescott Carlson in News on Aug 16, 2008 2:48PM

The CTA is holding a hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday night as the first step in creating an extension of the Orange Line to Ford City Mall, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The justification for laying out that kind of cash for this project instead of, say, getting the Blue Line able to run faster than 5 m.p.h. is to connect downtown to Bedford Park's booming... hotel business? And why, pray tell, is that so important?

[U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski] said construction could start in two years, making the line a vital link between the Loop, the airport and suburban hotels if Chicago lands the Olympics in 2016.

Oh, brother. If you want to make your voice heard on this project, the hearing will be held just inside the Ford City entrance at 7601 S. Cicero. [Southtown Star]