The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has selected Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners to design and build the 5.6-mile extension of the Red Line Extension (RLE) Project from 95th St. to 130th St., including four new Red Line stations.
The Chicago Transit Board approved the award of a $2.9 billion contract to Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners following a comprehensive, two-year procurement process. RLE is the largest project in CTA history and will provide faster connections from the far south side to the rest of the city of Chicago, Ill., while serving as an economic catalyst to one of the most disinvested parts of Chicago.
RLE is a transit equity project that fulfills a commitment to the far south side by significantly improving transportation to this part of the city, with 5.6 miles of new track and four new fully accessible rail stations at 103rd, 111th, Michigan near 116th and 130th St.
CTA says the RLE is a critical project for Chicago because:
- The far south side is the only area where CTA’s rail rapid transit service stops short of the city border.
- Communities in the area are largely populated with low-income, minority residents.
- For more than 50 years, residents have been promised the line would be extended.
“The Red Line Extension corrects past transit inequity and increases access to the most affordable transportation in the city. Hiring the contracting team that can provide the best value to the CTA to construct the RLE is a consequential step that demonstrates our vow to build this project,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “The CTA’s Red Line Extension Project is an example of how transportation dollars can be distributed to have lasting impact on the far south side, including workforce and small business opportunities that create jobs and support families.”
RLE design-build contractor
Walsh-Vinci Transit Community Partners will engineer, design and build the Red Line Extension Mainline Project, which includes:
- Extension of the Red Line 5.6 miles from the 95th St. to south of 130th St.
- Building four new, accessible stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue and 130th St., each expected to include bus, bike, pedestrian and parking facilities.
Construction is expected to start in late 2025 and be completed by 2030. To find and select a contractor to design and build the project, CTA underwent a two-step procurement process to select the most qualified contractor that provides the best value to the agency.
The first step was issuing a Request for Qualifications in 2022 to find contracting teams that had the experience and ability to build a large, complex rail project like the RLE. CTA subsequently qualified three contracting teams, including FH Paschen, Ragnar Benson, Milhouse and BOWA Joint Venture, Kiewit Infrastructure and Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners. CTA issued a Draft Request for Proposals to the potential bidders followed by a Final Request for Proposals in September 2023.
In considering the bids, CTA considered the technical proposals on how the project would be built and the proposed cost. CTA says Walsh-Vinci’s proposal was selected because it provided an innovative design and construction approach that will minimize impacts to community. Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners includes Walsh Construction, VINCI Construction, EXP, Systra and other subcontractors:
- Walsh Construction has built or is building several transit projects in the Chicago area, including the $2.1 billion CTA Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase One Project.
- VINCI Construction has completed more than $50 billion worth of design-build construction projects in 42 countries during the past 10 years in the U.S. and around the world.
- Systra has worked on multiple mega projects within the Chicago area, including CTA’s RPM Phase One Project and other U.S. transit projects.
- EXP has also worked on RPM, in addition to other large Chicago area projects, including CTA projects such as the Garfield (Green Line) Gateway Project, O’Hare Blue Line Belmont and Jefferson Park improvements, Washington/Wabash Elevated Loop Station, 95th Street Terminal Improvement Project and the Forest Park Blue Line’s Illinois Medical District Station Rehabilitation.
CTA and the contractor will hold public meetings as design and construction planning begins on this exciting project. The contractor will work closely with local communities and CTA customers on construction impacts to neighborhoods and service.
Project budget and construction costs
The project’s budget has increased to $5.3 billion, which includes financing expenses, to cover cost increases for construction materials, labor and financing. The prior project budget was $3.6 billion before finance charges and $4.1 billion, including financing costs. CTA is moving forward with the project to fulfill the long-ago promise to the far south side that the RLE would be built. The agency says delaying the project would potentially increase the budget by several billions of dollars. Factors affecting the RLE project budget change include:
- A more than 60 percent increase in construction labor and materials costs 2020-2023, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s National Highway Construction Cost Index.
- Higher interest rates.
- Continued uncertainty and predictability around material delivery.
- Large pipeline of projects, particularly for civil infrastructure projects.
CTA intends to secure funding for the budget increase with CTA-issued bonds.
Workforce and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)-certified small businesses
The project will also generate long-lasting economic benefits for the far south side via small business and workforce/career opportunities with RLE and CTA, as well as new economic development in the project area.
Walsh-VINCI’s workforce goals for the contract as a percentage of total labor hours includes:
Design
Service area Economically Disadvantaged Area (EDA): 10 percent of total design hours
Construction
- Careers opportunity goal: 10 percent of total trade labor hours
- Service area EDA: 35 percent of total trade labor hours
- Union Apprentice: 15 percent of total trade labor hours – Goal is to develop pipeline for training, apprenticeship and jobs
Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners has committed to actively talking with union trades, workforce assistance agencies and other transit peers to establish partnerships and pipelines to connect individuals to training and career opportunities.
CTA assessed DBE goals on the contractor for including DBE-certified contractors, including 25 percent for project design and 22 percent for project construction.
Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners will host targeted outreach events with CTA to educate potential-DBE firms on the certification process and inform the DBE small business community and career-seekers on upcoming opportunities.
CTA also has various supportive services to assist small businesses, including its Driving Small Businesses the Distance monthly webinar, its Small Business Educational Series and its financial capacity and technical assistance program, Building Small Businesses.
To assist career-seekers interested in the construction industry, CTA has two sets of workforce assistance agency partners to provide training and support. The first group, its pre-apprenticeship providers, include Chicago Women in Trades, Metropolitan Family Services and Revolution Workshop. The second group, its placement partners, include Chicago Women in Trades and Hire360.
Current project work
CTA will begin performing advance construction work this fall, including demolition of properties acquired for the project and advance utility relocation, which includes removing wires and poles and relocating utility equipment ahead of major construction in late 2025.
Project benefits for surrounding communities
The RLE will offer many benefits to the far south side and its residents, including:
- Provide up to 30 minutes of time savings to riders traveling from the future 130th Station to the Loop.
- Bring more than 25,000 jobs to Cook County in future years.
- Opportunities for workforce training, jobs and participation in the project by small DBE-certified small businesses.
- CTA supports DBEs through efforts, including the Building Small Business program and partnerships with its construction contractors.
- An award-winning RLE Transit-Supportive Development Plan in partnership with Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development that will guide the future development of the long-disinvested communities located near the RLE project area and it reflects the vision of those who currently reside and conduct business in those communities.
