Chicago Red Line Extension — 5.6 Miles to 130th Street

The Far South Side is the only part of Chicago where CTA rail service stops short of the city limit. Riders past 95th Street have been promised an extension since the 1960s. In April 2026 the agency finally broke ground on it.

Project Scope

The Red Line Extension runs 5.6 miles of new elevated track south from the existing 95th/Dan Ryan terminal to just below 130th Street. Four fully accessible stations go in near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue around 116th, and 130th Street, each paired with bus connections, bike facilities, pedestrian access and parking.

The Chicago Transit Board awarded a $2.9 billion design-build contract to Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners in August 2024, closing a two-step procurement that ran nearly two years. Three teams made the shortlist off the 2022 RFQ: Walsh-VINCI, Kiewit Infrastructure, and a joint venture of FH Paschen, Ragnar Benson, Milhouse and BOWA. The winning team pairs Walsh Construction and VINCI Construction with EXP on engineering and Systra on rail systems. Walsh also delivered CTA’s $2.1 billion Red and Purple Modernization Phase One, so the agency knows the crew.

Demolition and utility relocation started in fall 2024 and run through 2027. Track and station work continues through 2029, with revenue service targeted for 2030.

Why It Matters

This is the largest capital project CTA has ever attempted, and the budget history explains why it took so long. The program was scoped at $3.6 billion before financing. Construction labor and materials costs jumped more than 60 percent between 2020 and 2023 by FHWA’s National Highway Construction Cost Index, pushing the all-in figure to $5.3 billion and then $5.75 billion. CTA secured $1.9 billion in federal funding and intends to cover the increase with agency-issued bonds rather than going back for more federal money.

The workforce provisions are aggressive. CTA set DBE goals of 25 percent for design and 22 percent for construction, plus a requirement that 35 percent of trade labor hours come from the service area’s Economically Disadvantaged Area and 15 percent from union apprentices. The agency projects more than 25,000 jobs in Cook County over the life of the program.

For riders, the number that matters is 30. That’s how many minutes a trip from the future 130th Street station to the Loop is expected to save each way.

Project Team & Details