Transportation
Walsh-VINCI Chosen for $2.9B Red Line Extension in Chicago
The 5.6-mile Red Line Extension would include four new stations and provide public transit to an underserved neighborhood.
Rendering courtesy of CTA
The Chicago Transit Authority has chosen the design-build team of Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners to engineer, design and build the long-awaited $2.9-billion Red Line Extension project, set to serve the city’s Far South Side. The partners includes Walsh Construction and VINCI Construction, and design firms EXP and Systra.
The team, selected after a nearly two-year procurement process, will be responsible for designing and building the 5.6-mile line rail extension from 95th Street to 130th Street in the city, and will include four new Red Line stations at 103rd, 111th, Michigan Avenue near 116th and 130th Streets.
As ENR reported previously, several other contracting teams had vied for the job. Walsh-Vinci’s proposal was selected because it provided an innovative design and construction approach that will minimize impacts to community, said the authority.
The Far South Side is the only area where authority rail service stops short of the city border. An extension to the area has been promised for about 50 years.
“The Red Line Extension corrects past transit inequity and increases access to the most affordable transportation in the city," said authority President Dorval R. Carter Jr. in a statement. "Hiring the contracting team that can provide the best value ... to construct the Red Line Extension is a consequential step that demonstrates our vow to build this project."
The authority plans to begin performing advance construction work this fall, including demolition of properties acquired for the project and advance utility relocation, which includes removing wires and poles and relocating utility equipment ahead of major construction in late 2025. The project is set to finish in 2030.
Since the start of procurement, the project budget has increased from $4.1 billion to $5.3 billion, which also includes financing expenses, increases for construction materials and labor costs. Other factors adding to the increase include higher interest rates, continued uncertainty and unpredictability related to material delivery, and a large pipeline of projects, particularly for civil infrastructure, the authority said in its statement announcing the contract award.
It intends to secure funding for the budget increase with agency-issued bonds.
The authority is providing a disadvantaged business enterprise goal for the contractor that includes using DBE-certified contractors for 25% for project design and 22% for project construction. In addition, Walsh-VINCI will host outreach events with the authority to educate potential-DBE firms about the certification process and inform the DBE small business community and career-seekers about upcoming opportunities.
Walsh Construction and Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the project.
