Rebuild Illinois funding is already investing in the Chicago region’s transit system
July 6, 2021
July 6, 2021
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has created funding challenges for transit operations, CTA, Metra, and Pace have continued to implement major capital projects that invest in the region’s public transportation network. To ensure projects under each agency are delivered on time and on budget, the RTA provides Project Management Oversight (PMO) on all state-funded transit projects regardless of budget size, and all other projects with budget of $10 million or more regardless of funding source for the Chicago region’s transit system.
The RTA’s PMO work includes collaborating with CTA, Metra, and Pace, attending project meetings, conducting site visits, and reporting regularly to the Illinois Department of Transportation and the RTA Board of Directors. The PMO staff publishes biannual reports, the latest of which was completed in June 2021 and details the status of ongoing and recently completed projects.
The PMO process supports implementation of Invest in Transit, the 2018-2023 regional transit strategic plan, by ensuring that the RTA, CTA, Metra, and Pace are delivering value on investments and efficiently spending capital funds to maintain and improve the region’s transit system.
The June 2021 PMO analysis shows how Rebuild Illinois, the state capital bill passed in 2019, is already being spent to invest in the region’s transit system. It also includes details on 45 active projects with more than $1.3 billion in state funding, mostly due to Rebuild Illinois.
The Rebuild Illinois capital program passed in 2019, was an important step toward meeting the steep unmet capital needs of the system. But even with Rebuild Illinois, those needs, which total $2 billion to $3 billion per year to simply maintain our current assets, far outpace resources (about $1 billion per year).
RTA analysis found that all the state-funded projects are on budget and 42 of the 45 projects are on schedule. Many projects that will use Rebuild Illinois funding are still in the planning phases and have not yet entered the PMO process but will likely appear in future reports.
Projects highlighted in the June 2021 PMO report include:
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