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The CTA is moving forward on plans for the long-discussed extension of the Red Line to 130th Street, which will include a two-month period of public comment.
The next steps are part of a series of requirements before funding can be sought for the project and construction could begin.
But if all goes as the transit agency hopes, the Red Line could run from Howard to 130th as early as 2026, with construction beginning in 2022, according to CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase. The $2.3 billion project would fill in what activists have called a "transit desert" on the city's Far South Side, as well as suburban Riverdale.
"This is a great opportunity that should have happened 50 years ago, but I'm glad to see it's going to happen now," said Cheryl Johnson, executive director of People for Community Recovery, a nonprofit environmental organization. "Transportation is a major hurdle for people who have to go far north to work and school."
The city has not extended an "L" line since the Orange Line opened in 1993. The proposed 5.3-mile Red Line extension would have four new stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue and 130th Street, and would include bus and parking facilities.
"This will be a transformational project," Chase said.
The CTA plans to publish a draft environmental impact study next Thursday, and then begin a period of public comments through Nov. 30, including a public hearing Nov. 1 at a yet-to-be determined location. The agency also is notifying owners of 248 properties, with 101 residential and 28 commercial buildings, which the CTA may need to acquire for the project, Chase said.
The actual number of properties needed depends on where the CTA will lay the rails. Two years ago, the CTA narrowed the potential Red Line alternatives to one. This proposal would continue the line along I-57 to 99th Street, then run either to the east or the west of the Union Pacific rail tracks to about 118th Street, and then to 130th west of the South Shore line.
The extension is part of the CTA's "Red Ahead" planning for the system's busiest line, which has included the $425 million reconstruction of the Red Line South in 2013, the ongoing construction of the new 95th Street terminal and the Wilson Station renovation.
Based on public feedback, environmental review and funding availability for additional engineering, the CTA plans to announce the preferred option for the extension next year and publish a final environmental impact study in 2018.
The agency could then go after federal and local funds. New legislation passed this summer allows a special taxing district to be created to help pay for the extension, as well as for other major transit projects such as the Red-Purple Line modernization project on the North Side.
The South Side extension was part of the "Go to 2040" plan released in 2010 by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which is responsible for land-use and transportation planning in the seven-county Chicago area.
Kyle Whitehead of the Active Transportation Alliance, which supports safe walking, biking and transit, said that the extension could save Far South Side residents more than 20 minutes going downtown.
"Altgeld Gardens and the Riverdale area are really isolated in terms of public transportation," said Whitehead, the alliance's government relations director. "It boosts job access and access to things around the city for a community that desperately needs access, and there's also great economic development potential around these stations."
Chase said that the option for the Red Line extension that runs on the east side of the Union Pacific tracks would affect more residential buildings, while the west side option would affect commercial buildings. "You have to look at what the community wants," Chase said.
Johnson said she realizes there will be some "mixed feelings" about the project because of the loss of buildings along the route. But she said the development is "greatly needed," and she hopes the displacement will be fair and equitable.
"We have to look forward to the future, for economic opportunity," Johnson said.
Andrea Reed of the Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce said she is "glad and forlorn at the same time" at hearing that the project was proceeding — but may not be finished for another 10 years.
"We had hoped for 2016 back when we started talking about this in 2009," said Reed, whose organization also favors turning the Metra Electric District Line into a rapid -transit line, with more frequent stops.
I'd be impressed if they follow through. This would be great.
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