A Chicago Transit Authority express train project is stalling out.
Completing the Block 37 project that would connect downtown to O’Hare and Midway will take an additional $100 million. CTA President Ron Huberman asked for $45 million to complete the station’s basic infrastructure.
HUBERMAN: It adds additional dollars into the project to allow us to finish a shell, which means not completing the station but it completes the actual station shell and the tunnel shell, kind of like finishing the exterior of the building but not finishing the inside of the building.
The transit agency wants to find a private partner to finish the project.
Carole Brown is president of CTA’s board.
BROWN: At this point, circling it with police tape and walking away is not an option. We need to position it in the best way to find a private partner.
CTA says the station shell should be complete by the end of the year. It blames the overruns on unforeseen difficulties at the site and rising construction costs.