The west option has been determined for the CTA Red Line extension

Red Line extension map

So there is a determined alignment for the CTA Red Line extension and was announced today.

From the Tribune.

CTA decides on path for its proposed extension of the Red Line’s south branch to 130th Street https://t.co/ZY0qnlexfk pic.twitter.com/sMNvHm5ayX

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) January 26, 2018

The proposed route, which will be announced Friday, starts at 95th Street and would run along the west side of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks from I-57 south to about 109th Street. There it would cross the UP tracks and continue along the east side of the tracks until crossing Metra Electric tracks near 119th Street, and then continue south to 130th Street, the CTA said.

The 5.3-mile extension would include four new stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue near 115^th Street, and 130th Street with parking and bus connections.

The $2.3 billion project, if it gets funding, would fill in what activists have called a “transit desert” on the city’s Far South Side as well as south suburban Riverdale. The city has not created an extension of an “L” line since the Orange Line opened in 1993.

The alignment was based on community feedback on both options the agency received in late 2016, CTA officials said. The chosen path limits the number of properties the agency may need to acquire to up to 154 privately owned parcels, with 79 buildings and the rest vacant lots, CTA officials said.

Of course the next step is funding, however, it's great to see this potential extension continue to move forward.It was also noted that:

The CTA will hold an open house on Feb. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy gymnasium to present the alignment to residents. The agency then must publish a final environmental impact study to include further analysis of the path and some preliminary engineering work.

This alignment limits the properties CTA may need to acquire to build this extension.