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IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that its joint venture team with Walsh Construction Company has reached the first major milestone of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) historic Red and Purple Modernization Phase One Project with the completion of a rail bypass structure that will eliminate a century-old bottleneck on the CTA’s Red, Purple and Brown lines. The first train to travel the bypass, where an intersection has slowed traffic for millions of riders over the years, marks a significant step of the major revitalization of CTA’s rail system.

The first commuter train travels the newly completed Red-Purple bypass north of Belmont station, the first major customer improvement milestone completed by a Fluor joint venture for the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) Red and Purple Modernization Phase One Project. (Photo: Business Wire)

The Red-Purple Line Bypass is located in a dense, residential and heavily traveled commercial neighborhood a few blocks from Wrigley Field. Due to the tight space and limited options for support columns, the concrete bypass is supported by a 120-ton beam that straddles the track structure below. The Walsh-Fluor design-build team brought notable innovations by building a bridge with fewer support columns without compromising structural strength. Overall, this reduced the construction schedule and impact to the surrounding area.

“Designing and building complex infrastructure projects in populous areas with limited impact to businesses, residents and commuters is a trademark of Fluor’s infrastructure business,” said Thomas Nilsson, president of Fluor’s Infrastructure business. “When complete, this project will improve the quality, safety and reliability with an upgraded transit experience for CTA riders.”

The new bypass can now accommodate more trains and passengers per hour and allows for increased train speeds. It replaces steel structure with concrete, closed-deck track and sound walls that reduce track noise to the neighboring community.

The $1.3 billion project is the largest capital project in CTA’s history and is scheduled to be completed in 2025.

About Fluor Corporation

Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) is building a better world by applying world-class expertise to solve its clients’ greatest challenges. Fluor’s 44,000 employees provide professional and technical solutions that deliver safe, well-executed, capital-efficient projects to clients around the world. Fluor had revenue of $14.2 billion in 2020 and is ranked 196 among the Fortune 500 companies. With headquarters in Irving, Texas, Fluor has been providing engineering, procurement and construction services for more than 100 years. For more information, please visit www.fluor.com or follow Fluor on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

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