The stations, located at Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr, will open to the public beginning July 20. City officials said this will mark the largest simultaneous opening of stations since the Orange Line opened in 1993.

The Chicago Transit Authority says the $1.9 billion in federal funding it’s been promised for the Red Line Extension should be secure, despite the Trump administration’s sweeping freeze of grant money Tuesday.

Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter plans to resign on Jan. 31. He plans to take a job as the president and CEO of Saint Anthony Hospital on the city’s West Side.

The CTA’s Red Line Extension project will create four new stops on the Far South Side. Residents in nearby communities harbor both concerns about how the project will play out and hope about how it could improve their communities.  

Board members said improved communication will be key to the agency’s survival as it faces down a projected $539 million fiscal cliff in 2026, after the CTA runs out of pandemic-era relief funding that’s been keeping its operating budget afloat in the first quarter of that year.

Applause broke out Wednesday at the Chicago Transit Authority’s board meeting after directors approved a $2.93 billion contract for the design and construction of the Red Line Extension to 130th Street.

The $3.6 billion Red Line Extension project will carry the Red Line 5.6 miles south from its current terminus at 95th Street down to 130th Street. Nearly $2 billion in funding is slated to come from the federal government.

Construction often means disruption. That’s certainly been true in Edgewater and Uptown as the CTA’s been working to rebuild century-old tracks and stations. And with that project kicking off just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the challenges have been felt even more acutely.

Community-driven development centered around future CTA stations. That’s the idea behind a new “transit-supportive development” plan to revitalize South Side neighborhoods that are part of the proposed Red Line extension to 130th Street.

The CTA’s Board of Directors approved a $1.8 billion operating budget for 2023, a plan that doesn’t include fare increases for passengers. But with ridership still down from pre-pandemic levels, the budget relies on nearly $400 million in federal stimulus money to make up for lost fare revenue. 

Due to the lack of  CTA-provided parking options, South Side commuters are often forced to park on streets, sometimes illegally, risking a ticket or a tow. If they choose to drive the entire commute, they’ll face a packed Dan Ryan Expressway and expensive downtown parking. 

The southbound Red Line is down for the next five months. CTA President Forrest Claypool joins us to explain this massive revitalization project, and lays out his vision for the future of Chicago transit.