Ardmore Roderick has entered a joint venture along with global firms Arcadis and Jacobs, which was awarded a six-year contract by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for professional owner’s representative services for the Red and Purple Modernization Program (RPM) Phase One project. Phase One of RPM is the largest capital improvement project in CTA’s history. The entire RPM program, expected to be completed over multiple phases, will provide much needed capacity in this growing residential corridor to accommodate current and future riders, and to deliver faster and smoother rides with less crowding and more frequent service.

Our role as a JV owner will continue to pave the way for other DBE firms to participate at a higher level of leadership on similar, complex projects throughout the entire region. Teams afforded the opportunity to be part of a large-scale project are presented with a chance to develop key staff for future contracts, become an established consultant, and transition to a Prime contractor on future similar projects for the CTA or elsewhere. We are proud to be partnered with international firms such as Arcadis and Jacobs.

RPM Phase One will completely rebuild the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr stations and replace all track work and elevated supported structures adjacent to the stations. Construction on the first phase is set to begin in the second half of 2019 and finish in 2025. The project will also create the Red-Purple Bypass north of Belmont station and replace the century-old Clark Junction. The new bypass will allow the northbound Brown Line trains to cross up and over the Red and Purple line tracks, eliminating a major bottleneck in CTA’s rail infrastructure, improving travel times for commuters through faster and smoother rides with less crowding and more frequent service. The multi-stage project will completely rebuild the Red Line from Belmont to Howard and the Purple Line from Belmont to Linden in Wilmette.

Full press releases can be found here and here.