CTA approves two contracts to advance Red Line improvement projects
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) approved more than $1.22 billion in contracts to advance two transformational projects: Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Program and the Red Line Extension (RLE).
The RPM Program will rebuild century-old rail lines north of Belmont and improve CTA rail service while the RLE would extend the Red Line south from 95th Street to 130th Street. Both projects are part the larger Red Ahead program designed to improve the 22-mile Red Line, which is CTA’s busiest line at more than 75 million riders annually.
“For Chicago to continue to be a world-class city, it has to have world-class transit service to connect residents to jobs, education, culture and above all opportunity,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “We’ve seen countless businesses make decision to locate in Chicago because of our attractive transportation network, proof that modernizing CTA rail service is an effective strategy for economic growth and creates a seamless, safe and reliable transportation system for every neighborhood.”
The Chicago Transit Board approved a $1.2 billion contract to The Walsh-Fluor Design Build Team for RPM Phase One. The team will engineer, design and build the first phase of project including new Red and Purple line track infrastructure. The contract calls for the reconstruction of six miles of track and the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr Red Line stations into larger 100 percent accessible stations. The Walsh-Fluor Design Build Team, along with lead design Stantec Consulting Services and subconsultant designers EXP, International Bridge Technologies and TranSmart/EJM Engineering, will build a rail bypass north of Belmont station that will improve service reliability on the Red, Purple and Brown lines. EXP said it would provide all architectural and engineering services and all disciplines for all buildings, which is inclusive of new stations, temporary stations and miscellaneous support facilities. EXP is also the structural engineer for the one-mile long flyover bridge. The contract also calls for a new signal system on 23 track miles between Howard and Belmont that will improve CTA train flow and increase service reliability.
CTA and Walsh-Fluor will hold public meetings beginning in 2019 as design and construction planning begins on the project.
The second contract the Chicago Transit Board approved was a $20.9 million contract to HNTB Corp. to serve as program manager for the RLE. HNTB Corp. will oversee final environmental review and preliminary engineering work necessary to ultimately seek federal funding for the project. The three-year contract includes seven one-year options to extend the contract, in order to provide consistent support in future phases of the project.
The proposed 5.3-mile extension would include four new stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue and 130th Street. In January 2018, CTA announced a preferred alignment for the RLE that begins the extension at 95th, travels south along the Union Pacific rail tracks from I-57 and then extends southeast from 119th Street to 130th.
“The Red Line forms the backbone of the CTA and our city, and our investment in the Red Line will increase access to quality rail transportation for future riders offer CTA and offer customers faster, more reliable service,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “We are committed to bringing modernization to the Red Line corridor, very much like what we accomplished with the new $203 million Wilson station reconstruction last year and bringing new service and economic opportunity to the Far South Side by extending the Red Line to serve those communities.”
Both RPM Phase One and RLE are funded by a mix of federal and local funds.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
