CTA Taps Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners for RLE Design and Build Contract
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
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CHICAGO – The Chicago Transit Board selected Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners for a design and build contract for the Red Line Extension project.
The $2.9 billion contract was awarded following a two-year procurement process. According to a press release from the CTA, the contracted team will be responsible for extending the Red Line 5.6 miles from 95thStreet to south of 130th Street and building four new accessible stations. These will be located near 103rdStreet, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street. Construction is slated to begin in late 2025 and finish in 2030.
In 2022, the first step in the procurement process was to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ). The CTA says it qualified three teams which include FH Paschen, Ragnar Benson, Milhouse and BOWA Joint Venture, Kiewit Infrastructure and Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners. Afterward, the CTA issued a Draft Request for Proposals (RFP) followed by a Final RFP in September 2023. After considering the proposals, the CTA selected Walsh-VINCI’s proposal “because it provided an innovative design and construction approach that will minimize impacts to community.” It includes Walsh Construction, VINCI Construction, EXP, Systra, and others.
Walsh Construction has built or is currently building other transit projects in the area which include the $2.1 billion CTA RPM Phase One Project. Vinci Construction has finished more than $50 billion worth of projects in 42 countries over the past decade. Systra has worked on projects in Chicago which include CTA’s RPM Phase One Project. EXP has worked on CTA projects including the Garfield (Green Line) Gateway Project, O’Hare Blue Line Belmont and Jefferson Park improvements, and others.
For the project, the CTA says that “Walsh-VINCI’s workforce goals for the contract as a percentage of total labor hours” includes the following. For design of a Service Area Economically Disadvantaged Area (EDA), 10% of total design hours. Under construction, the Careers Opportunity Goal is 10% of total trade labor hours, and the Service Area Economically Disadvantaged Area is 35% of total trade labor hours. Under Union Apprentice, 15% of total trade labor hours. The CTA states the goal for this is to “develop pipeline for training, apprenticeship and jobs.” For Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)-certified small businesses, the DBE goals for the contractor is 25% for project design and 22% for project construction.
The Red Line Extension (RLE) Project will provide connections from the Far South Side to the rest of Chicago, acting as a “transit equity project that fulfills a commitment to the Far South Side by significantly improving transportation to this part of the city with 5.6 miles of new track and four new fully accessible rail stations.”
CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said, “The Red Line Extension corrects past transit inequity and increases access to the most affordable transportation in the city. Hiring the contracting team that can provide the best value to the CTA to construct the RLE is a consequential step that demonstrates our vow to build this project. . . The CTA’s Red Line Extension Project is an example of how transportation dollars can be distributed to have lasting impact on the Far South Side including workforce and small business opportunities that create jobs and support families.”
