Local and federal officials announced a USD 1 billion funding agreement that will allow the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to move forward with the first phase of the Red and Purple Modernization Program (RPM) — a plan to rebuild the century-old rail lines north of Belmont and improve CTA rail service.
The Full-Funding Grant Agreement with the Federal Trasit Authority (FTA) is the final step in securing the funding needed for the USD 2.1 billion first phase of the RPM project. RPM will rebuild part of CTA’s busiest rail line, the Red Line, parts of which are more than a century old.
In November 2016, the Chicago City Council approved the creation of a dedicated Tax-Increment Financing District (TIF) that will generate USD 622 million to support the first phase of RPM.
Securing the local funding was a critical step that paved the way to accessing USD 1 Billion in Federal funding.
Design and engineering work is expected to begin in 2017, and CTA anticipates construction work to begin in late 2018.Construction is estimated to take four to five years to complete, so it should be ready in 2022 or 2023.
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