(CHICAGO) — Commuters heading toward the Near West Side and the Illinois Medical District will need to prepare as some CTA Blue Line stations will temporarily close for rebuilding.

Beginning at 3 a.m. Sunday, the CTA started the first phase of the Forest Park Branch rebuild that will help eliminate service delays on Blue Line trains and improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

The Clinton, UIC-Halsted and Racine stations will be closed until late August, CTA officials said.

Trains will still run from O’Hare International Airport to La Salle, and from Forest Park east to the Illinois Medical District station.

To help reduce some of the impact, the CTA will add train cars to the Green Line — which runs parallel to the Blue Line, about a mile to the north, westbound to Harlem.

A bus shuttle will run around the clock between the impacted Blue Line stops and an express shuttle between Jackson and the Illinois Medical District stations will be available during rush hours in the morning and evening.

© Copyright 2023 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.