Projects

CTA Red Line Extension

CTA Red Line Extension

Chicago, Illinois
United States
red line extension

As Prime Consultant, TYLin provided the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Record of Decision (ROD), and Preliminary Engineering services for the Red Line Extension in Chicago, Illinois.

The Red Line Extension (RLE) project involves a 5.6-mile extension of the Red Line, south of 95th Street Terminal to 130th Street at the city’s southern border. The project will reduce commute times, increase connectivity and accessibility to the entire Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) network, and create connections to other transportation modes for this area of the city. 

The RLE includes four new passenger stations with associated parking, a full-service maintenance yard, and bus layover and parking structures at the two southernmost stations. The new stations will be catalysts for neighborhood revitalization and economic development. The project is expected to spur the development of more livable, transit-supported communities and help reverse decades of disinvestment in local business districts. 

As part of the Final EIS, TYLin investigated and developed final technical memorandums on traffic, noise, and vibration. In addition, the TYLin team completed the hazardous site assessment for the selected route, developed the conceptual design, prepared a construction cost estimate, and defined the scope of work for a design-build procurement. 

TYLin also delivered the final track geometry, selected a structure type for the base design, plan, and program for four stations, and provided specifications for multi-story parking garages and programming for the new maintenance yard and facility. 

The RLE project is expected to yield a 46% increase in newly accessible jobs within a one-hour hour commute of the project area. These economic benefits could be life-altering to historically underinvested and disproportionately low-income and minority communities in Chicago's Far South Side District.

In September 2023, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) successfully secured a commitment from the Federal Transit Administration for funding through the Federal Capital Investment Grant New Starts program, allowing this project to advance. The RLE is targeted for operation in 2029.

Project Highlights:

  • This project will deliver affordable rapid transit to historically underserved communities and improve mobility for transit-dependent residents and people with disabilities. 

  • As part of the preliminary engineering, TYLin provided limits of roadway improvements, utility identification and relocation coordination, traction power and substation design, and systems design. 

  • TYLin collaborated with a consultant focused on Transit Oriented Development to ensure the proposed improvements accommodate targeted goals for investment opportunities.  

  • The project highlights our commitment to achieving sustainable transportation that improves air quality, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and saves energy.

  • TYLin developed the designs in accordance with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) guidelines and CTA policies and standards.

Services

Awards
Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Environmental Document Preparation, 2023
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

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