Red Line Extension federal funding approved before Biden exits

As Biden wraps up his presidency, his administration and the Federal Transit Administration has announced its intention to sign a full funding agreement for the CTA’s Red Line Extension project. The funding agreement will contractually obligate $1.9 billion in federal funding to the project, solidifying the federal government’s commitment to the project.

“The announcement of a $1.9 billion full funding grant agreement is a significant milestone for the City of Chicago as it moves forward with the Red Line Extension Project,” said Durbin.  

In September 2023, FTA and the members announced that the project entered the engineering phase with a 50 percent federal funding share of $1.9 billion.  In July 2024, the members also announced that the project would receive a first-year federal funding total of $746 million, an additional $396 million over the $350 million originally planned.

The 5.6-mile extension of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line to Chicago’s southern border is the first rail transit extension in Chicago in 30 years.  It will serve roughly 100,000 people, most of whom are from low-income households on Chicago’s South Side and will benefit tens of thousands of working families and individuals in surrounding suburbs and communities.  The project will also provide an economic boost, making an estimated 25,000 additional jobs accessible to South Side residents within a 45-minute commute in the coming years, and generating $4.4 billion in economic activity in the County during the construction phase.  

Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and wrap up by 2030.