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Red Line Extension |
With preliminary work underway, transit officials say the long-awaited Red Line Extension is set to break ground early next year.
The $5.7 billion, 5.6-mile Red Line Extension project would move the south end of the Red Line from 95th Street to 130th Street. The CTA plans to build stations at 103rd and 111th streets near Eggleston Avenue, at Michigan Avenue near 116th Street and at 130th Street near the Altgeld Gardens public housing project.
Officials with the CTA and contractor Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners updated neighbors on the project Thursday during a Meet the Contractor session at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 211 E. 115th St. in Roseland.
Groundbreaking is set for early 2026, and the project will be split into six zones, said Rob Cheeseman, construction manager for the project with Walsh Construction and senior project manager for Walsh-VINCI.
The project is said to be in it's design phase and currently prep work such as demolition, utility relocation, and soil sampling is underway. A lot of buildings were condemened in the areas where the extension is to be built.
Construction will begin in the middle of the route. Crews will start from 106th Place to 118th Street — including two new stations at 111th Street and Michigan Avenue — then from 99th Place to 106th Place along Eggleston Avenue, with a new station at 103rd Street.
From there, crews will complete the remaining segments from north to south:
- The existing 95th Street-Dan Ryan terminal to the Interstate 94/Interstate 57 interchange.
- Interstate 94 to 99th Place.
- 118th Street to 120th Place, including a bridge over the Metra Electric tracks.
- 120th Place to 132nd Street, including the new 130th Street-Altgeld Gardens terminal.
Also
Much like the North Side’s Red-Purple Modernization project, two bridges for the Red Line Extension will incorporate pre-cast segments that will be built off-site. This will allow construction to be completed in a “much faster fashion” than traditional methods, Cheeseman said.I can't believe it, it's starting and very soon!
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One resident asked project leaders to prioritize plant life along the extension route and at the four new Red Line stations.
The CTA and construction teams will return to neighborhoods near the new stations for public input sessions later this year, and residents can share their ideas for greenery, benches and other aspects of the station developments, said Tammy Chase, CTA director of communications.