# Fluor-Walsh reports substantial completion of Chicago RPM Phase One

> The modernisation combines rebuilt stations, elevated track, a bypass and signalling, with final completion still scheduled separately.

- Topic: Project and operations update
- Event date: 2026-07-01
- First published on EPC Feed: 2026-10-29T18:49:24.361Z
- Updated: 2026-10-29T18:52:50.886Z
- Companies: Fluor
- Countries: United States
- Page: https://epcfeed.com/news/fluor-walsh-chicago-rpm-substantial-completion-2026


Fluor and Walsh Construction have reported substantial completion of the Chicago Transit Authority's Red and Purple Line Modernization Phase One project. Fluor announced the milestone on 1 July 2026, identifying the programme value as US$2.1 billion. That amount describes the project, not an independently disclosed Fluor-only contract share. Substantial completion is the stated delivery milestone and should remain distinct from final completion of every outstanding project activity.

The programme began in 2019 and replaced just over two miles of elevated track between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr. Four stations were rebuilt as accessible facilities, and the Red-Purple Bypass provides a new elevated route for Brown Line trains. The scope also includes 11 miles of digital track-circuit signalling. Fluor names Stantec, Hitachi and Meade alongside the venture as design, signalling and electrical participants.

The company says rail service was maintained during execution. It also states that the new stations and tracks fully opened in summer 2025, while final completion of Phase One was scheduled for November 2026. The July 2026 announcement must therefore not be presented as the first passenger opening or as proof that the final completion date had already been reached.

For EPC Feed, the combination of civil works and railway systems is central to interpreting the milestone. Rebuilt track and stations create physical capacity, while the bypass and signalling address how train movements use that infrastructure. A modernisation project can therefore involve several interdependent delivery streams, rather than a single platform or track replacement. The release identifies those streams without supplying a quantified comparison of achieved service performance.

The chronology also makes phased delivery visible: passenger availability, substantial completion and final close-out are different events. Keeping them separate provides a clearer record for infrastructure users and suppliers than attaching every completed feature to one announcement date. Later evidence about final acceptance or measured operating results would answer additional questions. The current update confirms the venture's reported substantial-completion milestone and the disclosed scope, with earlier opening and remaining programme commitments retained in their proper sequence.

## Sources

1. [Fluor Joint Venture Reaches Substantial Completion on Chicago Transit Authority’s Red and Purple Line Project](https://newsroom.fluor.com/news-releases/news-details/2026/Fluor-Joint-Venture-Reaches-Substantial-Completion-on-Chicago-Transit-Authoritys-Red-and-Purple-Line-Project/default.aspx). Company release, Fluor, Published 2026-07-01, Read 2026-10-29.