Fairly sizable funding contingencies still have to be resolved, but the so-called Red-Purple Bypass Project could increase rush hour capacity at a critical North Side junction by 30 percent.
The Chicago Transit Authority recently announced plans “to build a bridge or bypass for the Brown Line where it crosses the Red and Purple line over Clark Street a couple of blocks south of Wrigley Field,” according to a report by Greg Hinz.
The CTA Red-Purple Bypass Project would “unsnarl a mid-North Side rail junction that ties up hundreds of Red, Brown and Purple line trains a day.” Hinz reports that CTA Vice President Michael McLaughlin told a recent conference call that the “CTA will be able to run an additional 69 trains through the junction each rush hour, 30 percent more than now…”
The work still requires a full engineering and a source for the hefty estimated price tag of $320 million. Chicago did recently get a big windfall with a federal “core capacity” grant, but as part of much larger capital investment plans, the project will require serious political will to achieve the needed funding.
FULL STORY: CTA moves to unsnarl North Side el tracks

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
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