The Chicago Transit Board recently authorized an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT)

regarding

a fundin

g

transfer to support the design

of future trackwork along a significant

portion

of the

Chicago Transit Authority

's

(CTA)

Forest Park Branch

.

IDOT applied for federal funding on the CTA's behalf and secured a $15.8 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration.

Th

e CTA is planning a

multiyear, multi-phased

Forest Park Branch

r

ebuild

p

roject

that involves reconstructing

the entire

b

ranch

line

and

mak

ing it

accessible to those who use mobility devices.

The agreement will provide the

authority

the necessary f

undin

g

to advance the $28.2 million design phase of future trackwork between the Illinois Medical District and Forest Park stations

on the Blue Line.

"

As part of this future project work, which has not yet been funded, crews would completely remove more than 13 miles of existing track and underlying infrastructure and replace it with new materials and a new underlying drainage system

," CTA officials said in a press release.

Design work is expected to begin in late 2026. A construction timeline would be

determined

after the design work is completed, CTA officials said

, adding that the authority plans to continue working on securing the necessary funding for the project.

For decades,

a

portion

of the

Blue Line

corridor has been plagued by flooding, which has resulted in reoccurring slow zones along the Forest Park Branch

, they said. The rebuild project calls for revamping seven stations, replacing

the entire

trackbed

and drainage system

, and

upgrad

ing

the traction power system

.

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