The Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot and the President of Chicago Transit Authority, Dorval Carter, Jr., officially launched the Phase One of the Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) project, which is the largest reconstruction project in the agency’s history.
This is “a historic day for Chicago transit as we begin the largest project in CTA history to modernize CTA rail service for the next century and rebuild the Red Line, the CTA’s busiest line,” Mayor Lightfoot said.
CTA is beginning construction on the new Red-Purple bypass to unclog a 100-year-old junction where Red, Purple and Brown Line trains currently intersect. A major component of the project, the bypass construction will also rebuild four Red Line stations and century-old rail structure between the Lawrence and Bryn Mawr Red Line stations.
The Red and Purple modernisation project comprises three major components. The first one envisages the construction of the new Red-Purple bypass, expected to be completed in 2021, followed by the reconstruction of the Belmont – Newport/Cornelia track structure, which is estimated to be completed in 2024.
Under the second component, the project involves the reconstruction of three Red Line stations, which will be larger and fully accessible. The replacement of track structure totaling 9.6 track-km also is included in this phase. Major works will begin in 2020-early 2021 and are expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2024.
The third component will envisage the installation of a new signalling system on 37 km between Howard and Belmont improving train flow and service reliability.
This fall, CTA’s contractor, Walsh-Fluor Design-Build Team, will begin constructing new track structure foundations in the Lakeview community for the bypass bridge that will allow Kimball-bound (northbound) Brown Line trains to cross over north- and southbound Red and Purple Line tracks just north of Belmont station. This will replace the current Clark Junction, which was built in 1907 to connect Brown Line to the Red and Purple lines.
USD 2.1 billion is the total value of the first phase of the project which is expected to be completed in 2025.
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