CTA Approves $75M For Red Line Expansion To Far South Side

By Stephen Gossett in News on Nov 28, 2016 4:00PM

103rd Street Station rendering / CTA

The City of Chicago has given its ambitious plan to extend the Red Line to the Far South Side a pricy shot in the arm. The CTA and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced on Sunday evening that the CTA Board has approved $75 million in funds for the expansion.

An amendment to the CTA’s Capital Improvement Plan will assign the funds toward preliminary engineering and a study of environmental impact. The CTA is seeking in excess of $1 billion in federal funds to help back the $2.3 billion plan, but the engineering phase must be completed as prerequisite for the federal request. The $75 million will be funded by CTA bonds, according to a release from the transit authority.

“The Red Line Extension project is a transformational project to expand transit to Chicago’s southern border and create faster access to jobs, education and opportunity,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr said in a statement. “This investment will allow CTA to move forward with preliminary engineering and planning work necessary to seek federal funding to make this vision a reality for Chicago’s Far South Side.”

The expansion proposal calls for four new stations along the future track: near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street. Hopes are high that the added transportation option might alleviate unemployment in some of Chicago's hardest hit communities. The CTA will continue to take resident feedback until Wednesday.

The CTA has been scrambling to secure federal funds ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump, who pledged to support infrastructure projects, but appears poised to prioritize highway development ahead of mass transit.