CHICAGO - The Chicago Transit Authority has secured a $79 million transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan to help fund a new $240 million 95th Street Terminal on a CTA rail transit line.
"The Red Line is the backbone of our transportation network system and one of our city's key economic engines," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who made the announcement Friday alongside U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
"By utilizing innovative federal financing, we are ensuring that we build the infrastructure Chicago needs to succeed economically in the 21st Century and take advantage of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a significant investment in the South Side," Emanuel said.
The project marks the first CTA terminal reconstruction project in 30 years. It will expand customer areas, relieve congestion, and serve the four million riders who pass through the station each year. Preliminary work will begin in late spring with a completion date expected in 2016.
The project marks the CTA's first TIFIA loan. Chicago has received two -- a $288 million loan to help fund an $817 million consolidated car rental and intermodal facility at O'Hare International Airport. Chicago also received a $100 million TIFIA loan to help finance completion of the Chicago Riverwalk.
TIFIA provides federal credit assistance through direct loans, loan guarantees and standby lines of credit to finance infrastructure projects.
The current terminal dates back to 1969. The 9.4 mile Dan Ryan Branch of the CTA Red Line, ends at the 95th Street Terminal. The project also received a $20 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant in 2012 from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
