CTA Red Line extension breaks ground after judge made Trump Administration release $2 billion in funding
The Chicago Transit Authority is breaking ground on Friday to extend the Red Line.
The long-anticipated project was in limbo after the Trump Administration froze approximately $2 billion in funding for the CTA's Red Line Extension and Red & Purple Line Modernization projects.
CTA officials had to sue the Trump Administration to secure funding for this extension, which they are calling the largest capital improvement project in CTA history.
The Red Line Extension project would extend the Red Line 5.6 miles further south to 130th Street, adding four new stations: 103rd Street and 111th Street near Eggleston Avenue, Michigan Avenue near 116th Street, and 130th Street.
The CTA will also build a new rail yard and related facilities near 120th Street.
The project is estimated to cost $5.7 billion total.
The transit authority had said it was committed to moving forward on the project, even amid the Trump Administration's attempt to halt funding, citing concerns of race-based contracting.
Back in March, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily unfreeze approximately $2 billion for the CTA's Red and Purple Line modernization projects.
That judge ruled it was improper to retroactively apply new rules to grants that had already been awarded.
Mayor Brandon Johnson will join the CTA acting president and community leaders at 115th and Michigan on Friday afternoon for a groundbreaking ceremony.
