Chicago Transit Authority Red Line getting $1 billion face lift

By Chrissy Mancini Nichols

Nov 3, 2011

This post first appeared at metroplanning.org

Today Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a mix of $1 billion in federal, state and local funds to rehab tracks and stations on the Chicago Transit Authority Red and Purple lines over the next four years. 

State funding accounts for $646 million for the project, a grant coming from the Illinois Jobs Now! state capital program approved in 2008. Another $255.5 million will come from the feds, and the city will designate $22 million for the project.

Work to replace Red Line tracks and upgrade stations on the south side between 18th and 95th streets will be completed in 2015.  On the north side, the Clark/Division and Wilson Red Line stations will be rebuilt, along with improvements to the subway ventilation system, electric substations, and track ties on the Purple Line. 

The project, which will eliminate slow zones from 18th to 95th on the Red Line and on Purple Line tracks from Belmont to Linden, is expected to create more than 2,700 jobs.

This project is not part of the proposed Red Line extension on the south side, one of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s (CMAP) highest priorities for transportation in the region and part of the fiscally constrained list in CMAP's GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan.