The U.S. Department of Transport recommends USD 350 million in 2025 for the Chicago Red Line extension project (RLE), part of a USD 4 billion investment package for 14 transit projects in 11 states.
“We are one step closer to groundbreaking in 2025 and we thank U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for including this equity project in the budget recommendation heading to Congress, as well as the Illinois delegation for their continued support of this vital project. The RLE project will transform the Far South Side of Chicago, a promise and commitment we have dedicated to the community for decades. We look forward to continuing our critical work with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in the coming years,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said.
The extension project will extend the Red Line with 9 km to the Far South Side of the city, is one of three projects in the nation that is being proposed in the 2025 federal grant pipeline, which were recommended in prior budgets but have not yet entered into a construction grant agreement.
The Chicago Transit Authority was notified last year that it was in line for USD 1.973 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 dollars 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 (FFGA) by the end of 2024 subject to federal review and approvals.
All funding sources for the USD 3.6 billion Chicago Red Line extension project have been identified and include USD 1.973 billion in Federal “New Starts” – this includes the USD 350 million recommended in the FY 2025 budget request; USD 950 million in Local Transit TIF, USD 130 million from Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ)/Carbon Reduction programme, USD 365 million from State funding (anticipated) and the remaining funding of USD 182 million would be covered by CTA bond funds and other sources.
The project will extend the Red Line from 95th Street Terminal to the vicinity of 130th Street and includes four new accessible stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street, each of which would include bus, bike, pedestrian and parking facilities. Under a project, a new rail facility complex will be built to improve operational efficiency for the entire Red Line and CTA system.
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