In response to feedback from public meetings, the Chicago Transit Authority is tweaking its plans to shut down the south end of the Red Line next year, adding a new shuttle bus that’ll run from the South Loop to Chinatown.

Under the plan, the entirety of the Red Line south of the CTA’s Roosevelt station will be shut down for repairs starting on May 2013.

In response to concerns from Chinatown residents and businesses, CTA will provide a free shuttle service between the Roosevelt and Cermak/Chinatown ‘L’ stations. This, along with expanded service along the No. 62 Archer route, should help to make up for expected loss of visitors during construction.

The CTA also announced plans to augment service along major bus routes, including No. 3 King Drive, No. 4 Cottage Grove, No. 9 Ashland and No. 24 Wentworth. The extra service will include more frequent buses and longer service hours.

In addition, CTA will be working with Chicago Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications to improve public safety during construction. CTA promises 24-hour supervision on all free feeder shuttles to ensure smoother service and better customer assistance. It will work to develop a management plan to ensure that the increased bus service doesn’t adversely impact vehicles and pedestrians.

The CTA pledged to increase community outreach in order to ensure that businesses, community groups and chambers of commerce will be fully informed about the project.

In a press release, the CTA announced that more community meetings will take place for the remainder of the year, but it has not specified when or where those meetings will take place.

—Igor Studenkov