Agreement signed for funding of CTA Red Line Extension Project in Chicago, expanding services from 95th Street to 130th Street.

CHICAGO (WLS) — Local and federal officials signed a funding agreement Friday for the CTA’s Red Line Extension Project.

Among those present at the signing ceremony at a South Side church were Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, and CTA President Dorval Carter, Jr.

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“The Red Line Extension Project is significant for our city, particularly for the South Side,” Johnson expressed. “This initiative highlights the importance of investing in individuals, and I am excited that we are progressing towards establishing fair transportation alternatives for our city. I appreciate the collaboration of numerous partners from various government levels who supported this endeavor and enabled this momentous occasion – collectively, we are striving to attain economic prosperity and security for all neighborhoods, irrespective of their economic standing.”

As per a news release from Durbin’s office, the federal funding agreement commits over $1.9 billion towards the approximately $5.75 billion project. This undertaking will lengthen the CTA’s Red Line by 5.5 miles, connecting from 95th Street to 130th Street, and introduce four new ADA accessible stations.

The project includes connections that will have bus, bike, pedestrian and park-and-ride facilities.

A railcar storage yard and maintenance facility at 120th Street is also included.

Construction is expected to begin in late 2025 or early 2026, with service expected to begin in 2030.

“Thousands of residents on the South Side of Chicago have been waiting for this project to become a reality. This extension will improve transit access for Chicagoans while creating thousands of jobs and bolstering our economy. I’m heartened to see this firm commitment, with significant buy-in from the federal government, which my Chicago-area delegation colleagues and I have long-advocated for,” Durbin said.

The Red Line Extension project has been in the works for a number of years and is the largest single transit project in CTA history, a news release from the White House said.

“The project will address inequalities in access and economic investment in predominantly Black and disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city and improve transit connections between destinations such as the Rosalind Medical District, Pullman National Monument, Chicago State University, and the Chicago Housing Authority’s Altgeld Gardens housing development,” the release said.

CTA estimates the project will generate more than 25,000 jobs in Cook County and bring in $1.7 billion in real estate activity through 2040, along with planned transit-oriented development around the 95th Street Corridor.

“The Red Line Extension project will undo nearly 60 years of racial inequity in transit,” Carter said. “Residents of the Far South Side of Chicago deserve the same access to rapid CTA transit and the numerous quality of life benefits that come with it. I am proud to deliver on the promise I made to the community years ago and deliver access to affordable transportation in the city.”