New project management oversight report highlights more than 100 projects representing $8.2 billion in capital…

The RTA’s Project Management Oversight (PMO) program ensures that the Service Boards—CTA, Metra, and Pace—are spending capital funds and managing their infrastructure projects effectively and efficiently. The focus of the PMO program is implementation, delivery, and completion of active projects. It includes oversight of all state-funded transit projects, regardless of budget, and all other projects with budgets of $10 million or more, regardless of funding source. Project process information is updated on a quarterly basis to the Regional Transportation Authority Mapping and Statistics (RTAMS) website.

In June 2024, the RTA published its new semi-annual PMO report providing details on current capital projects throughout the region. This PMO report includes 81 active state-funded projects that have a total budget of more than $4.2 billion, of which $2.9 billion is state funding. Most current state projects are funded by the $2.6 billion Rebuild Illinois state bond program and by $227 million in ongoing annual gas tax revenue available for capital projects, referred to as PAYGO. The report also includes 28 projects with budgets of $10 million or more, funded with mostly federal and other local funds.

In total, the report details 109 projects which show a capital investment of over $8.2 billion into the Chicago region’s transit system.

Project highlights

CTA: New Training and Control Center Operations Facility

Expected completion: March 2027

Budget: $240 million

CTA is in the design phase for a new Training and Control Center Operations facility which will be built on Chicago’s West Side at Lake and Pulaski. This will be a state-of-the-art facility to support reliable, efficient, safe, and secure operations. This facility will replace the current control center that has seen some of its system become functionally obsolete. The new facility will provide a consolidated training center for operations, maintenance, and customer-facing personnel. Currently, training occurs at various CTA locations around the system. The new facility will allow CTA to centralize training in one location and will contain both bus and railcar inspection pits, including embedded rail track and testing track for rail operations.

Currently, the project design is 60 percent completed and coordination efforts are ongoing with ComEd for the engineering of the power supply that will feed into the design development.

Metra: 79^th Street, 87^th Street, and 103^rd Street Station Rehabilitation

Expected completion: February 2025

Budget: $61 million

Metra is making progress on their station rehabilitation [TS1] projects at 79th Street, 87th Street, and 103rd Street. This project is part of the Metra Electric Community Initiative, a multiyear, multimillion-dollar plan to transform 13 stations on the line[TS2] that runs from downtown Chicago through South Suburban Cook County. At the completion of this project, all three stations will have enclosed, ADA-accessible street-level entrances and lobbies with elevators; new stairs and headhouses; new composite deck platforms; and new lighting and signage.

To reduce the impact on customers, the work is being done in stages where no more than two of the stations are closed at one time. Construction activities are ongoing at the 79th Street station with roof framing, installation of conduits, and masonry work for the headhouse at street level. At the 103rd Street station, the contractor is installing structural steel at platform level and working on rebar and forming for the elevator.

Pace: ADA Transfer Facility

Expected completion: January 2025

Budget: $6 million

Pace is moving forward with construction of a new ADA Transfer Facility in Schaumburg. As part of this project, the existing Northwest Transportation Center will become a critical hub for paratransit with new assets that promote accessibility, expand capacity, and enhance comfort and aesthetics for people with disabilities and other commuters. The improvements to the site include the demolition of the former Schaumburg Post Office and the renovation of an existing facility that will accommodate customers, for the first time, with an indoor waiting area and public restrooms. The concept was informed by feedback from Pace’s ADA Advisory Committee and reinforces the agency’s commitment to advancing the accessibility and equity of its service.

Activity highlights include the completion of underground sewer and drainage installation, pouring of concrete foundations, and installing underground utility hookups for electrical and mechanical equipment. The contractor also continues to work on sandblasting and painting of various bus bays and canopies.

More funding is needed: Join the Transit is the Answer Coalition

The projects in the June 2024 PMO report show an investment of almost $8.2 billion into the region’s transit system. Rebuild Illinois and PAYGO funds provided a helpful infusion of funding into the capital program and helped expedite overdue repair and replacement projects to move the system toward a state of good repair. However, it is not enough to address the long-term project backlog. The RTA’s Strategic Plan, Transit is the Answer, highlights the need for an annual investment of $3.5 billion over the next 10 years.

The current infrastructure investments detailed in the PMO report are part of the progress made to bring our region’s transit system one step closer to the vision outlined in the strategic plan of safe, reliable, accessible public transportation that connects people to opportunity, advances equity, and combats climate change. Join the Transit is the Answer Coalition to help to win sustainable funding for transit and build a better system for everyone who relies on it.

Project highlights

CTA: New Training and Control Center Operations Facility

Metra: 79th Street, 87th Street, and 103rd Street Station Rehabilitation

​Pace: ADA Transfer Facility

​More funding is needed: Join the Transit is the Answer Coalition

Metra: 79^th Street, 87^th Street, and 103^rd Street Station Rehabilitation

Pace: ADA Transfer Facility

More funding is needed: Join the Transit is the Answer Coalition