An updated cost has been revealed for the CTA Red Line Extension (RLE) as the agency selects a contractor ahead of construction. Stretching all the way down to 130th Street once completed, the project has been in development for over a decade and recently received additional funding from the federal government.

Originally set to cost $3.6 billion, earlier this week the CTA announced that figure had grown to $5.3 billion due to high interest rates as well as a 60-percent increase in construction labor and materials. However the transit agency expressed they intend to secure funding for the budget increase with CTA-issued bonds.

In order to help bring the project to reality, the Federal Transit Administration more than doubled their funding for the first year of construction earlier this month. This brought their contribution up to $764 million from the originally announced $350 million. With that, the CTA awarded a $2.9 billion contract to Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners.

The design-build Transit Community Partnership is made up of Walsh Construction, VINCI Construction, Systra, and EXP, all of which have extensive transit experience including with the CTA. While official construction is set to commence next year, preliminary site work, demolition, and utility relocation will kick off this fall.

Once completed in 2030, the 5.6-mile extension will utilize a mix of elevated and grade level tracks stretching from the current terminus at 95th Street down to 130th Street. Bringing new accessible stations at 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street, as well as a new train yard and shop on 120th Street near the Metra KYD facility.

The RLE will help connect over 100,000 Chicagoans with no train access to the city, cutting current commute times to The Loop up to 30 minutes. A press release on the contractor award can be found here, and one for the funding can be found here.

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