Uptown, Edgewater Students Will Get To Name The Huge Gantry Crane That’s Helping Rebuild Red Line

EDGEWATER — The CTA is holding a contest to let local school kids name the massive gantry crane rebuilding the Red Line on the Far North Side.

The “name the gantry” contest will allow kids in second to fourth grade at four elementary schools to submit names for the 285-foot-long crane that’s installing Red Line platforms in Edgewater.

The winning name will be displayed on the gantry crane through 2024, when the construction project is scheduled to be complete. The classroom whose name is chosen for the crane will be invited to a dedication event, according to the CTA.

Schools invited to participate include McCutcheon, Goudy, Swift and St. Thomas of Canterbury, all close to the Red Line construction site.

Each classroom from the eligible grades can submit one name and give a short written description or video on why they chose that name. The name should have some significance to the city, according to the CTA.

Entries are due by Feb. 1 and a winner will be announced March 1.

Credit: Twitter/CTA RPM

For more information on the naming contest, click here or email Marcy Jensen of Walsh-Fluor at marcyjensen@walshgroup.com.

At nearly the length of a Boeing 747, the gantry is the largest piece of equipment being used on the $2 billion Red-Purple rebuilding project. It is the first time such a horizontal crane has been used in the city.

The gantry was put into action last month, helping CTA contractor Walsh-Fluor install prefabricated pieces of the Red and Purple line bridge. It is stationed near Ardmore Avenue and will move south as the project advances.

It is helping build the eastern, or northbound, tracks, with work on that portion of the project slated to wrap up next year. It will then be reassembled to build the westernmost tracks.

The gantry was custom-built to fit into the dense construction site and will help construct the track infrastructure faster and with less disruptions to neighbors, project officials said at a previous community meeting.

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