Background Throughout the mid-20th century, aside from the already-opened
State Street and
Milwaukee–Dearborn subways, city planners had proposed a third downtown subway lines that would run east–west. In the 1958
New Horizons project, two east–west lines were proposed: a subway line under Jackson Boulevard and an underground busway under Washington Street. In 1968, a newer plan, the
Chicago Urban Transportation District, called for an east–west downtown subway line, running from the
University of Illinois Chicago campus to
Grant Park primarily along Monroe Street. In addition, another subway line would parallel the lakefront from
McCormick Place to the
Streeterville neighborhood. Ultimately, by the late 1970s, growing project cost and insufficient funding led to the planned subway system and the project as a whole being canceled. In 1989, the
Chicago Central Area Circulator light rail project was proposed. The system would serve as far south as McCormick Place, as far west as Clinton Street (
Chicago Union Station and
Chicago and North Western Terminal), as far north as Streeterville, and as far east as
Navy Pier. While the project gained support, it also gained opposition from certain businesses, citing disruption from the project. As a result, certain segments were realigned, leading to delays. The project was eventually canceled in 1995 due to state and federal funding being pulled. as well as an additional $7.3 million from the city's tax increment financing in February 2012. In February 2013, the
Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced the addition of dedicated bus lanes as well as protected bike lanes. The agencies also announced a bus transportation center adjacent to Union Station. The busway was originally scheduled to become operational in 2014; Construction began on March 16, 2015; earlier that month, the Central Loop BRT was rebranded as Loop Link. The busway system opened on December 21, 2015. ==See also==