The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has selected Walsh-Vinci Transit Community Partners to design and build the Red Line extension (RLE) project under a USD 2.9 billion contract following a two-year procurement process. CTA considered the technical proposals on how the project would be built and the proposed cost.
Walsh-Vinci Transit Community Partners includes Walsh Construction, Vinci Construction, EXP, Systra, and other subcontractors.
The project covers the construction of a 9 km extension and four new fully accessible stations with works expected to be launched in late 2025 and to be completed in 2030.
The winner will be responsible for the construction of the extension from the 95th Street to south of 130th Street as well as the four new stations each expected to include bus, bike, pedestrian and parking facilities.
CTA subsequently qualified three contracting teams, including FH Paschen, Ragnar Benson, Milhouse and Bowa joint venture, Kiewit Infrastructure and Walsh-Vinci Transit Community Partners. CTA issued a Draft Request for Proposals to the potential bidders followed by a Final Request for Proposals in September 2023.
The project’s budget has increased to USD 5.3 billion, which includes financing expenses, to cover cost increases for construction materials, labor and financing. The prior project budget was USD 3.6 billion before finance charges and USD 4.1 billion including financing costs. CTA is moving forward with the project to fulfill the long-ago promise to the Far South Side that the RLE would be built. Delaying the project would potentially increase the budget by several billions of dollars. Recently, CTA secured USD 764 million in 2025-budget and the total value of the identified financial sources is around USD 3.6 billion.
By selecting the consortium that provided the best value to design and build the RLE mainline project, the CTA has reached yet another significant milestone for this historic project. The RLE is a critical project for Chicago because the Far South Side is the only area where CTA’s rail rapid transit service stops short of the city border. Communities here are largely populated with low-income, minority residents and for more than 50 years residents have been promised the line would be extended.
The Red Line extension (RLE) project is the largest project in CTA history and will provide faster connections from the Far South Side to the rest of the city while serving as an economic catalyst to one of the most disinvested parts of Chicago.
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