The CTA is on track to finish their Ravenswood Loop Signal Upgrade Project by the end of December, according to a CTA employee at the CTA monthly board meeting on Wednesday.

What this means for you : faster commute times on the Brown Line, as it will no longer be limited to at 15 mph in that area.

: faster commute times on the Brown Line, as it will no longer be limited to at 15 mph in that area. The milestone reached: the system is fully installed, and testing has begun.

The technical mumbo-jumbo: all of the physical infrastructure has been installed, and the contractor cut over the last of the relay houses at Illinois and gained beneficial use of the signal system.

all of the physical has been installed, and the contractor cut over the last of the relay houses at Illinois and gained beneficial use of the signal system. The CTA employee delivering the report today had this to say: “As a Brown Line rider, I’ve noticed a difference in my commute in that corridor, as well.“

Remember: the area is centered around Merchandise Mart and extends into the loop. In 2014, there was a mandatory slow zone on 18.2 percent of the track.

As of October 2018, that number had dropped to 6.3 percent.

Once the work is complete at the end of December, the Brown Line should be moving even faster.

This $50 million project originally started in 2015, and was originally expected to be completed by April 2 of this year, but is now projected to be completed by the end of December 2018.