CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot is touting improvements to the CTA and water pipe replacement thanks to President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
The Chicago mayor was at the bill signing on the White House lawn that she said is sending significant resources to the city.
"To help us address long delayed maintenance on things like bridges, underpasses, roads; it's going to be a big deal," Lightfoot said.
One of those is the extension of the Red Line beyond 95th Street - a place Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited over the summer.
"The economic development that we'll do along the Red Line extension corridors - this is going to help that enormously," Lightfoot said.
Additionally, the mayor wants Chicago at the front of the spigot for lead service line removal, which the bill has allotted $15 billion for.
"We've got the largest collection, I think, of lead service lines of any city in the country, and believe me, we have not been shy about letting everyone in Washington know that's the fact," Lightfoot said.
Other projects that she is prioritizing include expanding broadband service and building infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Mayor Lightfoot did not give a timeline for when the funds will arrive, but said her Chief Operating Officer Paul Goodrich is leading the management and prioritizing of projects.
"We are gearing up and we will be ready, but it's difficult to predict exactly when the dollars are going to flow," Lightfoot said.
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