InfraStrategies supported CTA with financial planning support services for ​the Red Line Extension (RLE) Project, a 5-mile extension of the Red ​Line south to 130th Street. In December 2024, RLE received a $1.97 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) New Starts program.

InfraStrategies led the development of ​the financial plan and supporting documentation for the $5.7 billion project. The initial financial plan was submitted to FTA in August 2022 as part of CTA’s request to enter Engineering. The revised financial plan was approved in Spring 2023. Additional revisions were submitted to the FTA in 2023 and 2024, with the project receiving its FFGA in December 2024. In addition to federal grants, the RLE project will be funded by a combination of CTA bonds and revenues from the Transit Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district set up specifically for the project.

InfraStrategies team members previously supported ​the CTA with a similar scope of work to advance the CTA Red and Purple ​Modernization Line through to a successful FTA Core Capacity grant in ​January 2017. The $2 billion project had a similar financial strategy to the RLE ​project, including a combination of FTA funds (Core Capacity and formula ​funds), Federal Highway Administration Funds (CMAQ), sales tax revenue ​bonds, and a TIFIA loan backed by the implementation of a TIF District along the corridor.