CTA State and Lake Station are now closed. Here is how the changes will affect your commute

If your morning routine usually involves ducking up the stairs at State/Lake, today marks the end of that habit—for a long while. As of January 5, 2026, the CTA has officially closed the State/Lake Loop Elevated Station, kicking off a full demolition and reconstruction project that will keep the stop offline for several years.

The closure is part of a complete overhaul of one of the Loop’s oldest and most overworked stations. State/Lake was built more than a century ago and was never designed to handle modern ridership volumes—or to meet accessibility standards. The rebuild aims to fix that, but for now, riders should expect some disruption as the project settles in.

The biggest immediate change is that the Brown, Green, Orange, Pink and Purple Line Express trains no longer stop at State/Lake. Trains are still running through the Loop, but riders who used to board or exit there now need to shift to nearby stations. The CTA is directing most riders to Washington/Wabash or Clark/Lake, both of which are already built to handle heavy transfer traffic and remain fully accessible. If you’re a Red Line rider, there’s less upheaval—the Lake Red Line subway station remains open and is not affected by the closure.

At street level, the construction footprint results in daytime closures on portions of Lake Street between Dearborn and State during weekday work hours and State Street has been reduced to one lane in each direction between Wacker Drive and Randolph Street. Most closures are scheduled outside peak commute windows, but congestion will likely spill into adjacent streets as demolition ramps up. Bus service along State Street is currently operating normally, though temporary reroutes may be needed as work progresses.

Here’s how to make this less painful: If State/Lake was your default, budget an extra few minutes to walk to Washington/Wabash or Clark/Lake for the smoothest fix. Red Line riders can lean more heavily on the Lake subway entrance to bypass the elevated entirely. Drivers should expect slower midday traffic through the Loop core and pedestrians should be ready for narrowed sidewalks, construction barriers and increased noise, especially during daytime and overnight work windows.

The payoff, eventually, is a rebuilt station with wider platforms, elevators, better lighting and a glass canopy that will move people through the Loop faster and more safely. For now, though, State/Lake is closed—and the Loop commute just entered a new phase.