Politics
CTA Officially Secures $1.9B in Federal Funding for Red Line Extension
A southbound CTA Red Line train is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News)
The federal government will pitch in nearly $2 billion to help extend the Red Line to the Far South Side, members of Illinois’ congressional delegation announced Wednesday.
Local and federal officials had been racing to finalize funding for the Red Line Extension before the end of the Biden administration. The $1.9 billion in federal transit grant money will help fulfill a decades-old promise to extend the heavily used train line past 95th Street, down to 130th Street.
“South Side residents have been waiting a long time for the Red Line Extension,” U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) said in a statement. “This investment in public transportation will provide direct transportation options downtown for South Side residents and create economic growth at home.”
The 5.6-mile extension will add new stations at 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue near 116th Street, and 130th Street. In August, the transit agency’s board of directors awarded a design-build contract for the project to a coalition of firms with extensive transit experience, including work on the CTA’s ongoing Red and Purple Modernization effort on the North Side.
The total cost is currently estimated at $5.75 billion. In addition to the federal grants, the rest of the funding is set to come from a mix of state and local funding — including from a transit TIF similar to the one used to fund the Red-Purple overhaul — as well as borrowing.
“Today, we fulfill a promise to the Far South Side of Chicago to extend the Red Line to the city’s edge, bringing transit equity and enhancing the quality of life for residents,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter said in a statement. “I thank the Illinois Congressional delegation, the Biden administration and countless others who made this moment possible. For more than 50 years, this day was a dream deferred, but now, it is finally a reality.”
Carter has regularly touted his ability to bring home federal money for CTA projects and has made making the Red Line Extension a reality a centerpiece of his work as CTA president — even as he’s taken hits from riders and elected officials over his management of a transit system still struggling to regain riders and improve service. Now that the full funding agreement is in place, it could raise renewed questions over how long Carter will continue to lead the CTA.
Officials hope to break ground on the 5.6-mile extension in late 2025, with service beginning in 2030. The train line was first floated back in the 1950s. Models show it will significantly reduce travel times for Far South Side residents who are underserved by transit and cut off from job and recreational opportunities.
“No matter their zip code, all Chicagoans deserve reliable and accessible public transit to get to school, get to work and more easily move throughout Chicagoland,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) said in a statement. “The Red Line Extension … will make a real difference in the lives of so many on Chicago’s South Side, not just by improving transit options for residents but also with the thousands of jobs this project will create and the economic benefits it will bring.”
Note: This article has been updated to reflect that the current total cost estimate has increased to $5.75 billion.
Contact Nick Blumberg: [email protected] | (773) 509-5434 | @ndblumberg
