“The CTA board on Wednesday approved contracts for the largest and costliest construction project in CTA history: the massive $2.1 billion Red and Purple Line modernization.

The board also approved a contract for preliminary work on an even larger project: the proposed $2.3 billion extension of the Red Line from 95th Street to 130th Street.

In a statement, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that “countless” businesses have chosen to locate in Chicago because of its transportation network.

“For Chicago to continue to be a world-class city, it has to have world-class transit service to connect residents to jobs, education, culture and above all opportunity,” Emanuel said.

Construction is expected to start in the fall of 2019, with the entire project to be completed in 2025.”

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