CHICAGO (WLS) — Starting Monday, the CTA’s historic State and Lake platform shut down for three years.

It is a massive undertaking of a project that officials say is long overdue. Commuters are surprised by how long the construction will take, but the Chicago Department of Transportation says it will be worth the wait.

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One of the busiest CTA stations in Chicago is now set to shut down until 2029 as the 130-year-old platform in the Loop gets a massive makeover.

CTA riders are already frustrated with how long the construction is planned for.

“It’s a little too long, but hopefully it’s nice,” said CTA rider Luke Goebel.

CTA riders coming through the Loop will now need to get off the train at Washington and Wabash or Clark and Lake.

“I’m glad,” said CTA rider April Siruno. “It’ll be worth the wait when everything is interconnected, that makes more sense.”

One of the main improvements that comes with this project is making it more accessible, especially for those with wheelchairs.

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“The station isn’t accessible to folks in wheelchairs, and we’re trying to make it accessible for all of our transit riders,” said CDOT Deputy Commissioner Anne Zhang.

Renderings of the project show the new modernized upgrades as the designers of the project say this will improve the platform from top to bottom.

“It is not an aesthetic upgrade. It’s not a superficial upgrade. It’s kind of open-heart surgery on a station. We’re going to be replacing almost the entire station,” said Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Partner Scott Duncan.

Some commuters say it will be nice to have a new platform while others say they would rather see the money for this project go to public safety across the CTA instead.

“They should have more security. If they got the money to upgrade this, why don’t they have the money for security? I heard they’re putting more security, but I haven’t seen it,” said CTA rider Chris Gonzalez.

Those concerns come as the CTA just launched its new security surge plan last month, putting more officers and K-9s on platforms across the city.

There will also certainly be some frustration for drivers coming through the area.

Starting Monday, Lake Street will only be open to local traffic between Dearborn and Wabash.

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