'Northwest Passage' connecting Ogilvie and Clinton CTA station deserves another go

Have you ever had to transfer between the Ogilvie Transportation Center and the Green or Pink lines at Clinton? The walk down the escalator, out the door, up Clinton Street and up the stairs to the CTA provides plenty of time to ask the question: Why isn’t there a direct, indoor connection between these two stations?

There used to be one. And there could be again.

In 1970, the city opened a direct, enclosed accessway between the Clinton elevated station mezzanine and the Chicago & North Western Terminal, Ogilvie’s predecessor. The corridor, nicknamed the "Northwest Passage," was carpeted, air‑conditioned, well-lit and monitored by video cameras. It enabled commuters to walk indoors from Madison Street to Lake Street, and 1,500 commuters a day used the two-block tunnel, according to a CTA survey. By any measure, it was a smart, effective piece of transit design.

But in 1989, the corridor was closed to make room for asbestos-removal equipment during a four-year, $90 million renovation of the terminal. Riders immediately voiced frustration, pointing out that the detour forced them back into the rain, snow and traffic the corridor was built to avoid. Metra assured the public the closure was temporary and that a new weather-protected walkway would open in a few years.

That promise never materialized. The corridor was eventually replaced by track, the CTA quietly removed “Northwest Passage” from the station name and Chicago commuters were left to fend for themselves on the street.

Today, the need for that connection is greater than ever. Ogilvie is one of the region’s busiest transit hubs, and the Green and Pink lines at Clinton are the closest CTA rail service to it. Yet transferring between the two requires dodging traffic, navigating crowded sidewalks and hoping the weather holds. What should be a simple, seamless transfer in a world-class transit system has become an improvised obstacle course.

Chicago already knows how to fix this problem, having solved it once before. And from a planning standpoint, the timing is right to fix it again. Chicago is in the middle of a major transit reinvestment. Reestablishing the Northwest Passage would be a highly visible, functional project that complements larger regional plans. While agencies debate long-term visions like through-running Metra service or a West Loop transit center, this is an improvement that could be delivered sooner, with immediate benefits.

A direct, enclosed passage also matters for accessibility. Riders with mobility impairments, parents with strollers, travelers with luggage and older adults pay a higher price for every extra curb, crosswalk and icy patch. In a city with no shortage of accessibility gaps in its transit network, removing this one is low-hanging fruit.

The efficiency benefits would be significant as well. The West Loop is one of the fastest-growing job centers in the region. Thousands of workers arriving via Metra rely on the Green or Pink lines to reach offices, schools and hospitals. Each day, they collectively waste hours waiting at lights on Clinton Street, weaving around delivery trucks or trudging through slush. A rebuilt corridor could reclaim minutes from every commute —and minutes add up. Five minutes saved each workday is roughly 20 hours a year returned to each rider.

Some will ask whether the price tag is worth it. But compared to the cost of new rail infrastructure, this would be a modest undertaking. Cities around the world — New York, London, Seoul, Toronto — routinely build enclosed transfer tunnels because they understand that small connections make big differences in how people experience a transit system. Chicago shouldn’t be the outlier.

Rebuilding a modern Northwest Passage would make daily travel easier for thousands of riders, at a modest cost, while finally delivering on a commitment quietly abandoned decades ago. It would also show that the city is willing to make straightforward, practical improvements, not just plan ambitious megaprojects. If Chicago had the foresight to build this connection once, it should find the will to build it again.

Ben Morrell is an attorney and a regular CTA rider.