The Chicago Transit Authority announced on September 29 a series of upcoming events that will advance the Red Line Extension Project, a plan to extend Red Line rail service to 130th Street from 95th Street including building four new rail stations that will provide rail access to the Far South Side.
The Red Line Extension Project is a key part of CTA’s “Red Ahead” investment in its busiest rail line. Other projects improving the Red Line on the South Side include the $425 million reconstruction of the Red Line South in 2013 and the ongoing $280 million construction of a new 95th Street Terminal, which will be completed in 2018. CTA says the project is expected to create 29,000 new direct, indirect and induced jobs.
“We are pleased to make progress on this transformational Red Line project, which will expand transit for the Far South Side and create faster access to jobs, education and opportunity,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “As we move forward in the comprehensive federally required planning process for this project, we continue to make significant investment in the South Side that include the new 95th Terminal, improved Red and Green Line service and expanded bus service on multiple routes to better serve our customers.”
The CTA two years ago narrowed the potential Red Line Extension Project alternatives to one “preferred alternative” with two possible options – one east and one west of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks on the South Side -- and announced $5 million of funding to continue planning work for the project.