CTA Gets $241 Million in Stimulus Money

By Anthonia Akitunde in Breaking on Mar 7, 2009 7:45PM

Earlier this week, we mentioned how the clock was ticking on the state of Illinois to claim its allotted stimulus cash for transit projects. Well, someone finally answered the bell. Yesterday the Chicago Transit Authority received $241 million from the federal stimulus package for capital projects. Today the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning allowed the CTA to begin working on transit projects, according to the Chi-Town Daily News. Metra will receive $141 million and PACE suburban buses will receive $33 million.

Projects include bus and rail car improvements and replacements, hybrid articulated buses, station upgrades, new rails for the Blue line and a new 35th Street Metra station near the White Sox's U.S. Cellular Field. The unusually fast pace is necessary under the "use-it-or-lose-it" rule in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. CMAP had to approve the projects in order for transit agencies to fund them through the Act and the CTA must commit half of their stimulus money within 180 days to avoid funds being redistributed.

However, as transit officials rush to get projects off the ground, they say more money is needed for infrastructure improvement.