Eisenhower Expressway widening, CTA Red Line extension among transportation projects likely to get funding from new federal infrastructure plan

Huge transportation projects planned in Illinois for years could finally be built, and innovations only dreamed of may now be considered, officials say, thanks to the new federal infrastructure program.

Drivers stuck on the Eisenhower Expressway and CTA Red Line riders looking to travel south of the 95th Street terminus, in particular, hope to find solutions to their problems in the $1.2 trillion in funding.

With at least $17 billion expected for Illinois, Metra train riders should see improved reliability, there should be more electric buses and vehicle chargers, travelers with disabilities should find better access, and bike riders and walkers should travel on more protected paths.

“This is a major boost for highways and transit alike,” said Joseph Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University’s School for Public Service. “Our transit operators can once again think big. Expanding the system is a real possibility.”

The package that President Joe Biden signed into law last Monday provides money for a wide variety of ways to get around, and experts say it’s just in time to revitalize a system that in some places is falling apart. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives Illinois infrastructure a C-minus rating — “requires attention.”

While the federal law generally doesn’t identify specific projects, several that have been planned for years are likely to be prioritized.

Among the most ambitious plans in the works is the proposed 5-mile extension of the CTA Red Line from 95th Street to 130th Street, adding four new stations to an area considered a transit desert.

The CTA took to Twitter this week to declare the estimated $2.3 billion extension a “transformative project” and “top priority,” and said the federal funding should make it happen.

Construction could begin in 2025, and trains could be running on the tracks by 2029, CTA spokesman Brian Steele said.

While details about CTA projects depend partly on how much funding the agency receives and when , the infrastructure bill could also help accelerate other priority projects like bringing its train stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and electrifying its bus fleet.

CTA’s 20-year program to make the remaining 42 of its 145 stations ADA compliant is expected to cost $2 billion. The first station on the list is the Austin Green Line station, where work is expected to begin by the end of 2022, Steele said.

Money could also purchase electric buses and charging equipment to electrify CTA’s fleet. The agency has announced a plan to convert its more than 1,400 buses to electric by 2040. It is currently running eight electric buses with a handful more on the way. Turning the entire fleet over to electric will require additional infrastructure and planning, Steele said.

Other CTA projects could include rehabbing the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line that runs west from downtown Chicago along the Eisenhower Expressway, general track and signal improvements, and station upgrades.

Pace, the suburban transit agency, also plans to begin phasing in electric buses this year, and to move forward with its Pulse rapid bus service along the 95th Street and Halsted Street corridors in the south suburbs.

On the West Side and suburbs of Chicago, most of the Eisenhower, or Interstate 290, is the original roadway built in the 1950s. A proposed project could add lanes where it is now three lanes each way between Hillside and Oak Park, a chronic bottleneck. Additional work would cover the 13-mile stretch from Hillside nearly to I-94, and would cost an estimated $3 billion.

The Illinois Economic Policy Institute forecast that it would bring major economic and accessibility benefits to disadvantaged areas.

Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman committed to widening the highway, calling it “a critical piece of infrastructure.” He said it’s long overdue not just to be rebuilt, but to be modernized into a multimodal transportation system with a path for people to walk and bike, potentially, “all the way down to the lake.”

The work could also include safety improvements for travelers getting to and from the CTA Blue Line that runs inside part of the expressway — possibly as part of $1 billion nationwide to reduce the impact of interstates on surrounding neighborhoods.

The state also plans to add two lanes to the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) from the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) to downtown Chicago, and one lane each way from the Tri-State to I-355, at an estimated cost of $1 billion.

Other state mega-projects include adding a lane in each direction on I-55 through Springfield, I-57 downstate and I-270 in the Metro East area near St. Louis.

Osman also wants to pursue new Amtrak rail lines to Rockford and the Quad Cities. Long-delayed efforts for high-speed rail from Chicago to Springfield and St. Louis also should result in intermediate speeds of 90 miles per hour in the coming months, with an ultimate goal of 110 mph.

Illinois has an advantage because Rebuild Illinois, a $45 billion multiyear state spending plan paid by gas and vehicle taxes, will provide matching funds to attract more federal grants, he said.

For commuter rail passengers, Metra’s plans include building the A2 flyover, to unlock a major chokepoint near Grand and Western avenues in Chicago, where seven rail lines intersect and cause delays, spokesman Michael Gillis said. Metra also plans to help untangle the 75th Street corridor in Chicago, where passenger, freight and vehicular traffic cross paths. The agency also plans to buy new locomotives and passenger cars.

About half of the federal funding is dedicated to transportation agencies, but much of the rest is open to competitive grants. Under alternative transportation funding, bicyclists may get a chance to ride a proposed trail near Roosevelt Road in North Lawndale, similar to The 606′s Bloomingdale Trailon the North and Northwest sides.

The Chicago region is set to receive about $4 billion for transit over five years, most of which is expected to go the Regional Transportation Authority, which will then distribute it to Metra, Pace and CTA, said Leanne Redden, executive director of the RTA.

The transit agencies will also be able to apply for some of the billions in discretionary funding available.

Having more certainty about funding will help “provide the level of transit service that I think our region expects and deserves,” Redden said.

The Chicago Department of Aviation doesn’t yet know how much money will go to O’Hare and Midway, but expects it to be “significant,” agency spokeswoman Christine Carrino said in an email.

In 2018, the city struck an $8.5 billion deal to modernize O’Hare. The expansion, still in the planning phase, calls for the city to borrow against future airline fees to add more than three million square feet of new terminal space at O’Hare ― a 72% increase.

The city plans to tear down the 55-year-old Terminal 2 to build a new “Global Terminal” to grow O’Hare’s sluggish number of international flights. Plans also call for the renovation of Terminals 1, 3 and 5 while constructing two new satellite concourses to create more room for domestic carriers.

CDA said it is still evaluating how it will use the infrastructure funding, but possibilities include improving ADA accessibility and projects related to the airport terminals and airfields, Carrino said. She did not identify specific projects.

The funding is also expected help the Illinois Department of Transportation with a long list of road and bridge projects across the state, building on money from Rebuild Illinois capital program.

In general, the federal dollars are expected to be used for projects that have been prioritized for years by transportation agencies through the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

While much of the money will go to solve existing problems, CMAP Executive Director Erin Aleman said, “This is an historic opportunity to improve how people and goods move throughout the region. And given our role as a freight hub, our local infrastructure is critical to the national economy.”

Before talking about the “mega-projects” the money could fund, some smaller, less glamorous projects need to be addressed, too, said Audrey Wennink, director of transportation for the Metropolitan Planning Council.

That includes maintenance and innovation for the state’s existing highways. Major roadways could be redesigned to be more pedestrian friendly and encourage slower speeds, she said.

“Before we reach for the big and shiny mega project, there’s a lot of foundational work that needs to happen in terms of maintaining, but integrating innovation into that maintenance,” she said.

Projects with an equity focus, like dedicated bus lanes, could take priority. Transit could be electrified more quickly. Improvements could help make Metra work better for reverse commuters, she said.

“We need to make our core system work better for everybody, and then build upon that,” she said.

The federal program is to be paid without tax increases through a range of existing funds, including unused coronavirus and unemployment money. The Congressional Budget Office estimated it would add $256 billion to budget deficits.