The city of Chicago was working hard to win the federal funding while the Obama Administration is still in power.
"The Chicago Transit Authority has secured nearly $1.1 billion in federal grant money for major upgrades to North Side CTA tracks to reduce delays and overcrowding," report Mary Wisniewski and Nereida Moreno.
The federal funding required matching local funding, which required the city to quickly approve a new special taxing district. "The city had been working to land the grant before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in Jan. 20," add Wisniewski and Moreno. The taxing district is "expected to generate more than $851 million over the next 17 years"—almost all of which will go toward the North Side CTA project.
"The grant will be used to replace the track structure and improve bridges and viaducts between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr avenues," according to the article. The grant will also go toward upgraded signals between Belmont Avenue and Howard Street and "to build a 'flyover' that will separate the Red and Purple line tracks from the Brown Line tracks north of Belmont Avenue."
FULL STORY: CTA to get $1.1 billion federal grant to upgrade Red Line

Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.

Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.

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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

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