CTA: Federal grant application advances for Red Line Extension project

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Red Line Extension project has advanced to the next phase of the federal New Starts program, a step in applying for project funding under the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

The project would extend the Red transit-rail line on Chicago's far south side from 95th to 130th street. The grant would be the largest transit infrastructure grant awarded to CTA in the agency’s history, CTA officials said in a press release.

The CTA can now begin the engineering phase of the project, which includes further design and engineering needed to build the project and identifies the federal grant dollars CTA can receive for the project once the engineering phase is completed and approved by FTA. 

This phase is expected to continue into 2024 and anticipates a funding award by the end of 2024 subject to federal review and approvals. The remaining project funding will come from a $950 million transit TIF approved by Chicago City Council last year and other sources, CTA officials said.

The project will include four new accessible stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue and 130th Street.