Quinn, Emanuel plan $1 billion overhaul of CTA’s Red, Purple lines
CTA Red Line train at the Belmont stop.
(CHICAGO) – Governor Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday announced a $646 million state grant to repair and rebuild the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line and improve the Purple Line.
The plan brings the total state investment to $702.4 million for the Red and Purple Lines to date. Combined with $255.5 million in federal funding and $44.1 million from the city, the total is over a $1 billion investment. The project will rebuild sections of deteriorated tracks to eliminate slow zones, replace or repair aging stations, install new power systems to improve performance and upgrade a significant portion of the Purple Line.
“Chicago is a city on the move, and we must be able to move our residents with the speed and comfort that mark modern transportation,” said Emanuel. “These investments will make our city a more enticing place to live, to start a business, to raise a family.”
Construction starts in 2012 and will last three years.
The project will replace the tracks between 18th and 95th streets and provide upgrades to stations between Cermak and 95th Streets. Further north, the Wilson and Clark/Division stations, along with the surrounding track, will be rebuilt. The ventilation system will be upgraded on the underground portion of the Red Line through downtown Chicago. Three electrical substations will be upgraded. On the Purple Line, track between the Belmont and Linden stations will be replaced, eliminating slow zones.
The Red Line service first started in the early 1900s, and the State Street Subway portion was built by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration during the 1930s.
Last year, the entire CTA rail system handled 211 million riders.
