Feb 10th 2021 | Posted in Transportation by Government Contracting Pipeline

Illinois – The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) unveiled the designs for four Red Line stations on January 28 as part of the $2.1 billion first phase of the Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) project.

Chicago Transit Authority Lawrence rendering

CTA will rebuild the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, and Bryn Mawr rail stations, transforming each into new, modern, larger, and fully accessible stations to customers with disabilities. The new stations will include elevators and escalators, wider platforms, and improved amenities.

The $2.1 billion RPM Phase One project is the first part of CTA’s plan to rebuild the Red and Purple lines between Linden and Belmont. Phase One work will benefit the entire Red Line by addressing chronic overcrowding and delays while modernizing infrastructure that is more than a century old. The Red Line is CTA’s busiest line, carrying nearly 70 million riders in 2019.
Three major components of the first phase are:
  • Reconstruction of the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, and Bryn Mawr Red Line stations into larger, 100 percent accessible stations; and replacement of track structure totaling 6 track-miles that is a century old. Reconstruction work will begin in spring 2021. The new stations are expected to open by the end of 2024.
  • New Red-Purple Bypass construction, (expected completion by the end of 2021), followed by the reconstruction of Red and Purple Line track structure between Belmont and Newport/Cornelia (expected completion by the end of 2024).
  • Installation of a new signal system on 23 track miles between Howard and Belmont that, similar to roadway traffic signals, will improve train flow and service reliability.
The RPM Program, which will be done in multiple phases, will rebuild the 9.6-mile stretch of Red and Purple Line track structure and stations on the North Side that are a century old. RPM will replace aging infrastructure, increase CTA’s capacity to increase train service as needed, and improve service for customers with more reliable, comfortable service. Future phases of RPM have not yet been announced and are currently unfunded.