CTA announces path for proposed Red Line extension on South Side

CHICAGO (SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE) - Hours ahead of a scheduled Friday morning press conference, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office and the CTA announced a plan to extend the Red Line’s south branch more than five miles.

The plan would extend the line from 95th Street to 130th Street, according to a tweet from Adam Collins, the mayor’s communications director.

The 5.3-mile extension would add four new stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue near 115th Street and 130th Street, according to a statement from the CTA. It is estimated to cost $2.3 billion.

The extension would start at 95th Street and run along the west side of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks from I-57 to about 109th Street, the CTA said. It would then cross over to the east side of the Union Pacific tracks until it crosses the Metra Electric tracks near 119th Street and continuing south to 130th Street.

The planned route is a hybrid of two previously proposed alignments based on community feedback received during a federally required environmental impact study in 2016, according to the CTA.

At 10:45 a.m., Emanuel is scheduled to detail the plan at a press conference at Block Park, 346 W. 104th St.

The CTA will hold a public open house about the planned extension from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 13 at the Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy gymnasium, 250 E. 111th St.