Renovation of the Brown Line on the city’s North Side moved a step closer Thursday as members of the Illinois congressional delegation announced that the Federal Transit Administration has completed its review of the long-awaited project.
The project now goes to Congress to receive a full-funding grant agreement, which is expected after a required 60-day review. Obtaining such an agreement is essential, because it commits the federal government to pay for most of the Brown Line work.
“We are delighted to see the grant agreement submitted to Congress. It’s a great affirmation of the importance of transit in general and the Brown Line in particular,” said CTA president Frank Kruesi.
CTA officials had hoped to begin the Brown Line project in the fall of last year but had to wait for the grant approval.
Preliminary work is expected to begin next year and take up to five years, said CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney. The agency doesn’t have a construction schedule, and the project still must go out to bid for a contractor.
The primary goal of the project is increasing capacity on the Brown Line–which has the CTA’s highest ridership growth rate–by rehabbing all 18 stations and the track to accommodate eight-car trains in place of the six-car trains that currently operate. All stations also will be fully accessible to disabled riders, and signaling and communications will be upgraded, the CTA said.
The grant agreement will guarantee that the feds will contribute $246 million from money designated for “new-start” transit projects, according to the state congressional delegation. The grant agreement cements the way for other appropriations that will cover up to 80 percent of the total cost.
“This was a group tackle made by both political parties to invest in the neighborhoods,” said U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), praising the combined efforts of House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), U.S. Rep. William Lipinski (D-Ill.), U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mayor Daley and Gov. Blagojevich.
Emanuel said $45 million is in the process of being allocated as the first major funding for the Brown Line project. The line runs from downtown to the Kimball station on the North Side. The line carries more than 60,000 riders a day, up by 83 percent since 1979, and its trains have grown increasingly crowded.
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Compiled from
Chicago Tribune and RedEye news services and edited by
Patrick Olsen (polsen@
tribune.com)
