Chicago’s Red Line extension project is expected to receive from the U.S. Department of Transport an increased funding of USD 764 million in 2025, from the previous pledge by the Biden-Harris administration of USD 350 million.
The USD 396 million increase in first year funding for 2025 underscores the commitment by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Illinois congressional delegation to the USD 3.6 billion Red Line extension project.
“Transit provides important connections for Chicago’s residents, workforce and visitors. This accelerated funding shows our confidence in the Red Line project and the leadership at CTA, while redirecting taxpayer dollars spent on borrowing costs, putting those millions back into the transit system,” FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool said.
The CTA was notified last year that it was in line for almost USD 2 billion in critical grant funding needed to build the project. CTA then began the engineering phase of the project, which includes further design and engineering needed to build the project and identifies the federal grant CTA can receive for the project once the engineering phase is completed and approved by FTA. The engineering phase of the project is expected to continue this year, and CTA anticipates a full funding grant agreement by the end of 2024.
The funding sources identified for the USD 3.6 billion project includes USD 1.97 billion federal “New Starts” programme which includes a USD 350 million recommended in the FY 2025 budget request, USD 950 million as local transit TIF (Tax Increment Financing), USD 130 million from Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement/Carbon Reduction programme, an anticipated USD 281 million in State funding and USD 266 million will be covered by CTA bond funds and other sources.
The project covers the construction of a 9 km line of the Red Line starting at 95th Street Terminal to the vicinity of 130th Street served by four new accessible stations. the project also involves the construction of a new depot and related rail facilities to improve operational efficiency for the entire Red Line and CTA system.
Chicago’s Red Line extension is one of the largest transit projects in the city’s transport investment history.
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