Metra considers RRIF loan option to fund bridge replacements

Metra is considering applying for a $230 million federal  Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement (RIFF) loan to cover costs for multiple bridge replacements. 

The Chicago commuter railroad's trains cross 926 bridges each weekday, 446 of which it owns. Of those 446, 50% are more than 100 years old, and another 30% are more than 75 years old, which is the standard service life of a steel bridge, Metra officials said in a press release. The aging bridges are stable but increasingly expensive to repair and maintain.

Metra receives funding from local, state and federal sources for capital projects, but not enough to cover the $5.4 billion worth of projects in its 2025-2029 capital plan, officials said. Presently, Metra only has $2.1 billion in funding available. 

Applying for and closing on a RIFF loan will take approximately a year. Repayment, estimated at $15 million to $20 million a year, would be paid out of Metra’s normal operating fund sources, Metra officials said.

The $230 million, if secured, would be used to complete funding for a major 11 bridge replacement projects on the UP North Line on the Chicago's north side. Funding also would be used to rebuild the bridge of Grand Avenue on the Milwaukee District lines in Chicago; rebuild the bridge over the north branch of the Chicago River on the Milwaukee District North Line in Northbrook, and expand a bridge on the same line over the river in Rondout; rehabilitate the bridge over Hickory Creek on the Rock Island Line, and rebuild the bridge over 96th Avenue.