Chicago Transit Authority 
RED LINE EXTENSION ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS STUDY
SCREEN 3 BOARDS


BOARD:  FTA’S Required New Start Process

Flow chart of the New Start Process: Concept Development, Alternatives Analysis Study (present stage), Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Impact Statement, Final Design, Construction, then Operation.


BOARD: Purpose and Need

-- Transportation Needs
* Significant Bus and Passenger Congestion at 95th Street Red Line Station
* Lengthy Bus Trips to Access 95th Street Red Line Station
* Far South Area Residents Experience 20% Longer Commute Times than Rest of City
* Traffic Congestion is expected to grow along with Study Area Population and Employment

-- Opportunity for Improvement
* Extend rapid transit service south from 95th Street Red Line Station
* Improve access to, within, and beyond study area
* Support economic development and job opportunities
* Shorten transit travel times through faster and more direct routing


BOARD:  Study Area

Map:  A map which displays the study area with existing CTA rail service and bus routes, Pace bus routes, and the terminus of the Red Line at 95th Street.  The study area is bounded by 95th Street to the north, the Cal-Sag Channel/Little Calumet River and 134th Street to the south, Stony Island Avenue to the east, and Ashland Avenue to the west.


BOARD:  Community Participation 

Community participation is one of the key components of the alternative analysis

-- Community Outreach
* General Public
* Elected and Appointed Officials
* Community and Civic Organizations
* Faith-based organizations
* Local and state Agencies

-- Ongoing Public Involvement / Input
* Meetings announced through public notices and advertisements
* Project updates on the CTA web site: www.transitchicago.com.  Accessible at local libraries


BOARD: Universe of Corridors and Profiles Considered

List of corridors identified: : I-57 Expressway, Halsted Street, Union Pacific Railroad, Wentworth Avenue, State Street, Michigan Avenue, King Drive, Cottage Grove Avenue / Metra Electric, I-94 Bishop Ford Freeway

List of Profiles:  At-grade, Elevated, Trench, Underground

List of technologies:   Automated Guideway/Monorail, Bus Rapid Transit, Commuter Bus, Commuter Rail, Heavy Rail Transit, High Speed Rail, Light Rail Transit, Local Bus, MagLev,
Personal Rapid Transit, Streetcar


BOARD:  Screen 3 – Step 1  Alternatives Definition 

-- Transportation System Management (incorporate BRT), Halsted Street to Vermont Street, at grade, no exclusive lanes, 4 station and 5.1 route miles, park and ride facilities at each station
-- Transportation System Management (incorporate BRT), Michigan Avenue to 130th Street, at grade, no exclusive lanes, 4 station and 8.0 route miles, park and ride facilities at each station


BOARD:  Screen 3 – Step 1  Alternatives Definition 

-- Heavy Rail Transit, Halsted Street to Vermont Street, elevated, 4 station and 5.0 route miles, park and ride facilities at each station
-- Heavy Rail Transit, UP Railroad to 130th Street, elevated, 4 station and 5.3 route miles, park and ride facilities at each station  


BOARD:  Screen 2 – Step 2:  Evaluation Findings 

Table illustrating the Detailed Evaluation

-- The Bus Halsted alternative compares better to other alternatives in capital costs and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, but is less advantageous under the transportation criteria analysis 
-- The Bus Michigan alternative compares better to other alternatives in capital costs and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, but is less advantageous under the transportation criteria analysis 
-- The Rail Halsted alternative compares better to other alternatives in transportation improvements and ridership 
-- The Rail UPRR alternative compares better to other alternatives in public support transportation improvements and ridership, but is less advantageous under the physical criteria 

Table Summary:  The Rail Halsted and Rail UPRR alternatives are the recommended Locally Preferred Alternative(s).


Table illustrating estimated costs and benefits of three alternatives.


BOARD:  Preliminary Cost-Effective Evaluation 

Table illustrating the Detailed Evaluation

-- The Rail Halsted Corridor to Vermont Avenue:  Capital cost is $1,100 million, annual O&M cost is $20.5 million, Annual ridership is 11,600,000.  
-- The Rail Halsted Corridor to 119th Street:  Capital cost is $900 million, annual O&M cost is $17 million, Annual ridership is 10,900,000.  
-- The Rail UPRR Corridor to 130th Street:  Capital cost is $1,100 million, annual O&M cost is $24 million, Annual ridership is 12,700,000.  
-- The Rail UPRR Corridor to 115th Street:  Capital cost is $800 million, annual O&M cost is $17 million, Annual ridership is 10,600,000.  

FTA has a cost-effectiveness threshold
* Cost per hour of projected user benefit as measured by travel time savings

Shorter versions of the HRT alternatives were investigated to see if the cost-effectiveness improved
* HRT Halsted to 119th 
* HRT UPRR  to 115th

Initial results indicate up to 23% improvement in the cost-effectiveness due to greater proportion of capital cost and O&M savings versus ridership reductions.
* The Halsted / 119th alternative improves cost-effectiveness by 23%
* The UPRR  / 115th alternative improves cost-effectiveness by 22%


BOARD:  Preliminary Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation Shortened Alignments  

-- Heavy Rail Transit, Halsted Street to 119th Street, elevated, 3 station and 3.8 route miles, park and ride facilities at each station
-- Heavy Rail Transit, UP Railroad to 115th Street, elevated, 3 station and 3.3 route miles, park and ride facilities at each station  


BOARD:  Freight Railroad & Transit Shared Use Corridor Shortened Alignments  

Physical Constraints 
-- Freight Railroad & Transit Shared-Use Corridor
* Due to recent accidents, the transportation industry is adopting greater separation between freight railroad and transit operations for safety reasons
* For the UPRR Rail Alternative, 50-feet separation distance is desired from freight railroad tracks
-- Right-of-Way Constraints
* UPRR needs most of their right-of-way for operational purposes
* With additional separation distance, CTA extension will be immediately adjacent (east or west) of the UPRR right-of-way and will require adjacent property acquisition

Rendering 1:  Cross-section rendering of the UPRR right-of-way (ROW).  The ROW is 60 to 100-feet wide.  The CTA HRT is on a structure separated from the existing UPRR mainline tracks, but within the UPRR ROW.  The CTA structure has a “crash wall” 7 – 8 feet thick and there is a 6-foot tall detention fence between the two sets of tracks.

Rendering 2:  Cross-section rendering of the UPRR right-of-way (ROW) and a CTA ROW corridor.    The entire transportation corridor is 125 to 165-feet wide.  The CTA HRT is on an elevated structure in its own ROW on adjacent parcels.  There is a 6-foot tall detection fence between the two ROWs.


BOARD:  Locally Preferred Alternative

Heavy Rail Transit, UP Railroad to 115th Street, elevated, 3 station and 3.3 route miles, park and ride facilities at each station  


BOARD:  Aerial Map Board – HRT Halsted  Alternative

-- 95th Street to I-57 & Halsted Street
* Median of I-57 Expressway 
-- Halsted Street from I-57 to 127th Street  
* Elevated Station above Halsted
* Intermediate stations at 103rd, 111th, and 119th
* Terminal station at 127th
* Park-and-ride at stations


BOARD:  Aerial Map Board – HRT Union Pacific Railroad  Alternative

-- 95th Street to I-57 & UPRR
* Median of I-57 Expressway 
-- Railroad Section  
* Elevated adjacent to UPRR right-of-way
* At-grade south of 119th to 130th
* Intermediate stations at 103rd, 111th, and 115th
* Terminal station at 130th
* Park-and-ride at stations