CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - After two and a half years of construction and delays, Metra’s new station at Peterson and Ridge in Edgewater opened this morning.
Like others in this neighborhood, Damien has been waiting for this day for years.
He said he bought a place around the time of the station’s groundbreaking, in the fall of 2021, and taking Metra is more convenient than driving or taking other mass transit to get to work downtown.
“[You] drive a mile and a half, find a place to park or find a place to park a bike or take a Divvy [bike],” Damien said. “It’s not really well-served in this neighborhood, and the other option is to walk to Granville and take the [CTA] Red Line and then switch to the Brown Line and go to the Merchandise Mart and then walk from there.”
The final price tag for the station is $27 million, $5 million more than originally budgeted. The project has been in the works for over a decade and took a year longer than anticipated when Metra broke ground two and a half years ago.
Robert Bryant is ready to be a full-time commuter. He tells us he sold his car last week.
“Now, I get to take the train, which is much less expensive than operating a car, and I don’t have to pay attention,” Bryant said.
Several of the Union Pacific-North Line commuters told WBBM they expect to save about a half hour each way with the new station.
It has a dropoff spot and circle drive, handicapped parking spots, a warming area on each side, and four new weekday trains were just added. At the Peterson and Ridge station.
“All the people were waiting for this day, it’s done, it’s done,” exclaimed rider Nada.
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok