The $1.97bn construction grant to advance the $5.75bn Red Line Extension project is from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. The project’s engineering phase has been well into motion and these funds will only fuel the progress further South. The 5.5 miles extension of the Red Line aims to connect the L system to South Side Chicago.
The Red Line Extension project by Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is aimed at easing commuting around the city by extending the Red Line train route 5.5 miles to 130th Street. Also in plans is the building of four new stations with bus and parking facilities. These four stations will be located at 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street. Once complete, the project will not only improve transit but also catalyze development. More businesses, job opportunities, healthcare services and education establishments are to be expected. The project will create more than 25,000 job opportunities and also up real estate cash flow by $1.7bn according to CTA estimation.
Project factsheet
Project: Red Line Extension
Cost: $5.75 billion
Construction phases: 1 (one)
Project delivery method: Design – Build method; thus one construction phase
Current project phase: Engineering phase
Current project stage: Advance construction work (Also referred to as pre-construction work)
Entails of advance construction work: Advance utility relocation and demolition
Start of advance construction work : April 2024
Next project phase: Construction phase
Next project stage: Red Line Extension Major Construction work
Start of construction work: Late 2025
Open for service date: 2030
Also read: AECOM comes on board the Austin light rail project
Red Line Extension project’s Transit Supportive Development (TSD) plan
A Transit Supportive Development (TSD) Plan was created to provide guidance on future economic developments in the area and ensure that the community’s vision for revitalisation is met. According to CTA, they were hopeful that the TSD plan which was started in 2020, will be completed later the following year. All the encompasses of the plan were successful, gearing the project into the engineering phase. What follows after this is the construction phase.
A spokeswoman for CTA, Catherine Hosinski, back in 2021 pointed out that the Red Line Extension project was a large-scale project which required federal funding. This as per the project’s schedule has been achieved as a milestone following the latest FTA announcement.
The inking of this grant by the FTA’s Deputy Admin Veronica Vanterpool is nothing short of a change in gears for the project. This cannot be understated as Pete Buttigieg, the U.S Transportation Secretary, made reference to this by saying, “The grant we’re announcing today will finally deliver on this long-awaited project…” Much more is expected of the Red Line Extension project.
Also read: Latest $1.1bn FRA rail grant to improve 123 rail projects in the U.S.
