The Department of Transportation awarded the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) a $111 million Reconnecting Communities Grant to replace more than 10,000 feet of Blue Line track between Kedzie and Pulaski.
The project is located within Chicago’s East Garfield Park and West Garfield Park communities, and the Blue Line track work between Pulaski and Kedzie is tentatively expected to begin in Summer 2027. This grant is the latest investment to support the Forest Park Branch Rebuild – a multi-year, multi-phased investment program to reconstruct the entire Forest Park Branch of the Blue Line and make it 100% accessible to those who use mobility devices.
Starting last summer, the CTA rebuilt 15,000 feet or almost three miles of tracks between the LaSalle and Illinois Medical District (IMD) stations; demolished and began rebuilding the Racine station to meet modern accessibility guidelines; and upgraded the traction power system for improved service reliability as part of Phase 1 of the project. A vertically accessible Racine station is expected to reopen by the end of 2024.
“This funding is a critically needed investment in the Forest Park Branch and allows us to continue to move forward on our promise to improve rail service on the west side,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “This grant reinforces the Biden-Harris’s Administration’s commitment to improving safety and equity through investments in public transit. We thank Senators Durbin and Duckworth, and the Illinois Delegation, for their support of this important project.”
Much of the infrastructure along the Forest Park Branch of the Blue Line dates to 1958, and only four of the 11 rail stations along the branch are vertically accessible to people who use mobility devices. Under the Forest Park Branch Rebuild, the CTA will rebuild seven rail stations to make them meet modern accessibility guidelines; replace the entire trackbed and drainage system along the branch; and upgrade the traction power system to support the electrical needs of modern railcars to meet current and future ridership demands.
