Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) officials said Wednesday that work has begun on the first major transit project to be paid for with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – replacement of more than seven miles of track to eliminate slow zones in the Blue Line’s Dearborn subway.

The $87.8 million project began over the weekend and is expected to be substantially completed by the end of the year.

The project will create approximately 400 jobs locally over the course of the work through the construction contractor.

Under the project, crews will replace deteriorated wooden half ties with concrete half ties and running rail and contact (third) rail to remove existing slow zones and help prevent the creation of new slow zones. The work will be done in three phases, with the first portion taking place from just north of the Division Station to just south of the Grand Station.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gives every city in the nation many opportunities to create jobs and improve the quality of life for residents during these tough economic times,” Daley said in a news conference held above ground at the Blue Line Division station.