USA: The Chicago Transit Authority has approved a $2·9bn contract for Walsh-Vinci Transit Community Partners to design and build the 9 km metro Red Line Extension.
The consortium comprises Walsh Construction, Vinci Construction, EXP, Systra and subcontractors.
Kiewit Infrastructure and a joint venture of FH Paschen, Ragnar Benson, Milhouse and BOWA had also prequalified.
CTA said the winning proposal provided the best value and offered an innovative design and construction approach that would minimise impact on the community.
Preliminary works are scheduled to start this year, with main construction to begin in late 2025 for completion by 2030.
Walsh-Vinci Transit Community Partners has committed to provide training, local jobs and opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses.
Cost increase
CTA plans to issue bonds to fund the increase in the project’s overall budget from $4·1bn to $5·3bn.
The authority said construction, labour and materials costs increased by more than 60% in 2020-23, and it faces higher interest rates, continued uncertainty around material delivery and a large pipeline of civil infrastructure projects.
Corrects transit inequity
The extension will run from the existing southern terminus at 95th Street to serve four new stations at 103rd, 111th, Michigan near 116th and 130th streets.
It is intended to provide faster connections from the Far South Side to the rest of the city, serving as an ‘economic catalyst’ for an area with low-income residents which is the only area where CTA’s rail transport service stops short of the city border.
‘The Red Line Extension corrects past transit inequity and increases access to the most affordable transportation in the city’, said CTA President Dorval R Carter Jr on August 14.
‘The CTA’s Red Line Extension Project is an example of how transportation dollars can be distributed to have lasting impact on the Far South Side including workforce and small business opportunities that create jobs and support families.’
