LA Metro D-Line Expo Purple Line Incl.: Crenshaw/LAX Westside LRT

The Source » FTA gives go-ahead for Westside Subway Extension and Regional Connector to move into preliminary engineering phase. That's the Federal Transit Administration.

LA's mayor himself: Antonio Villaraigosa: Subway and Regional Connector Chugging Along into 2011. He helped developed the 30/10 financing scheme where the Federal Government loans much of the construction money to LA to get LA's transit projects built faster.

The Westside Subway Extension is an extension of the Purple Line westward in Wilshire Blvd. from Wilshire/Western Station. It may depart from that street go to Century City and Westwood, ending at the Veterans Administration hospital; the route there is still unsettled.

The Regional Connector Transit Corridor will connect the Blue and Expo Lines to the Gold Line in a tunnel in downtown LA. It will go from the the 7th St. / Metro Center station northward in Flower St. to 2nd St., then eastward in 2nd St. to Central Ave., then northward to the Gold Line.

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Several other LA transit projects are in various states of planning and construction.

The Exposition Transit Corridor, Phase 1 to Culver City will open soon, most of it this year, and the Culver City station next year. At least according to BuildExpo » FAQ.

Gold Line Foothill Extension is now under construction from Pasadena to Azusa. It is to be extended further, to Montclair and Orlando Airport. According to Phase 2A: Pasadena to Azusa | Metro Gold Line, construction should be done on that part in 2014.

These lines are in various stages of planning:

Exposition Transit Corridor, Phase 2 to Santa Monica
Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 - extension of the Gold Line
Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor - connecting the Expo Line and the Green Line
Green Line LAX Extension - an adjunct to the Crenshaw project
South Bay Metro Green Line Extension - extension from Redondo Beach to Torrance
West Santa Ana Transit Corridor - from the Green Line to Paramount and Santa Ana

"Gold Line Foothill Extension is now under construction from Pasadena to Azusa. It is to be extended further, to Montclair and Orlando Airport. According to Phase 2A: Pasadena to Azusa | Metro Gold Line, construction should be done on that part in 2014."

Thats quite some extension all the way to Florida! Its Ontario airport.

I concede. Although I must say that Ontario Airport's name reminds me of that province of Canada.

The Exposition-Boulevard line is now in its testing phase:
Light-rail service along Expo Line could begin in November | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times
The Source » Rail car debuts on Expo Line tracks
The Source » More photos of Expo Line testing
The Source » Video: Expo Line vehicle testing commences

Not electrified yet; the railcars are being pulled by road-rail vehicles.

Its builders hope to open it out to La Cienega Blvd. on Nov. 15, with Culver City following next year.

Some more route details:

Eastside Phase 2:
They've narrowed it down to two routes:
East in SR-60 to South El Monte
South in Garfield Ave., then east in Washington Blvd. to Whittier
They've dropped the Beverley Blvd. and the Beverley / Whittier Blvd. routes -- those routes are in between the previous two

Exposition Phase 2:
Not much, but the site has a map that shows the route that they've decided on:
Like Phase 1, it will follow the old railroad line westward, then northwestward, then westward again in Exposition Blvd. and Olympic Blvd. to Santa Monica and the coast.

Crenshaw-LAX:
The route: from the Expo Line, south in Crenshaw Blvd. to Hyde Park, then southwest along the railroad line in Inglewood to Florence Ave., then south in Aviation Blvd. to the Green Line.

Metros largest budget ever approved.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... html?lanow


Among the highlights:

$22 million to operate the first phase of the Expo Line, which is expected to open in November and will run from downtown L.A. to the edge of Culver City
$266 million to build the second phase of the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica
$43 million to begin construction of the Crenshaw Line
$39 million for the Regional Connector, which would run through downtown L.A.
$50 million for the Westside Subway Extension, also known as the “Subway to the Sea”
$77 million for the Orange Line Extension

Construction on the Crenshaw line?
I went to Metro to Hold Public Hearing Wednesday, May 18, on Proposed FY12 Budget and looked at their Proposed FY2012 Budget (pdf).

From the second PDF page:

The new Expo light rail line to Culver City will be completed. Construction of the Foothill Extension of the Metro Gold Line to Azusa is imminent. We plan to break ground on the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line along with other rail projects.

I then went to the Capital Program Project List, and then to Major Construction and Measure R Transit Projects.

The spending on the Crenshaw Line is much less than the spending on the Expo Line, which is indeed under construction. It's comparable to the spending of projects that are still in the planning phase with no construction expected anytime soon, like the Regional Connector and the Westside Subway.

So I find this claim of breaking ground on the Crenshaw Line rather odd. But given the amount of money that the LAC MTA expects to spend on Phase II of the Expo Line, I would not be surprised to see them start construction of it later this year.

Thanks to our intrepid members keeping us apprised of transit developments in the land of the automobile. To show that's not true anymore, I've linked this thread to our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/RailroadNet

Help us get to 1,000 "likes" for our page by "sharing" the page with your FB friends. Thanks!

Jeff
Site Admin

Thanks lpetrich for the updates. It's incredible to see the amount of transit development being done in the Southland. As some one who grew up there in the seventies and eighties, it's unreal for someone who once had to depend on the then RTD and other exclusively bus services to get around (Big Blue Bus GM fishbowls rock!)

FTA issues positive ROD record of decision! Updated thread title to include Crenshaw/LAX to assist search function.

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/p ... p?id=29388

"FTA issues record of decision for Crenshaw/LAX light-rail project"

“This approval means [LACMTA] can proceed in making a $1.7 billion investment in a light-rail transit system, the largest in South L.A.’s history,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor and LACMTA Board Member Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The 8.5-mile light-rail line will run between the Expo Line on Exposition Boulevard and the Metro Green Line. It will serve the Crenshaw Corridor, Inglewood, Westchester, Calif., and LAX areas with six stations.

Crenshaw light rail line gets final approval - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Transit officials say they hope construction will begin this summer, and that the line will be open in late 2018.

Announcement the LA Metro's site: FTA issues milestone approval for Crenshaw/LAX light rail project
Project page: Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor

Part of the Crenshaw/LAX line will follow the Harbor Subdivision, but most likely in Florence Ave. and Aviation Blvd. LA Metro's project maps show the study area for each extension highlighted, and for the Crenshaw/LAX project, the highlighted area extends to Wilshire Blvd. A possible future extension to there in Crenshaw Blvd.?

South Bay Metro Green Line Extension discusses possible extension of its west end to Torrance along the Harbor Subdivision.

About Phase 1 the Exposition-Boulevard line, it still is not open, and construction work continues:
Downtown L.A. Blue Line stations to close evenings of Jan. 7-8 after 7 p.m. for Expo Line systems integration work
BuildExpo » Construction claims that Phase 1 is 98% done.

However, pre-construction work continues for Phase 2, and construction should start later this year.

The Westside Subway Extension route seems largely settled. From Wilshire and Western, west in Wilshire Blvd. to Rodeo Dr., and then a station in Century City and a station near Westwood Blvd. The study area suggests possible further extension westward into Santa Monica and northward into Hollywood, extensions that have been mentioned in some planning documents.

California may not be able to build high speed rail between the northern and southern parts of the state. But we do have the next best thing: Several ongoing major rail expansion projects for the state's largest metropolitan areas.

Two things about the LA expansions strike me: First of all, whatever happened to the regional ban on subway construction? And second, why is it safe to tunnel through a methane zone now if it wasn't before? I know the congressman who originally banned the Westside subway due to methane concerns also spearheaded its repeal. That's one of the more intriguing stories about the whole Westside project to me. Usually when a politician takes a stance on "safety" grounds, they never change their mind, regardless of the effort or evidence to show that it can be done safely.

Anyway, when the Purple Line to Century City opens, it'll mean a huge ridership boost for all connecting services, including Metrolink. One of the things that really irks me about LA is that every major movie studio (Century, Warner, Universal) ended up building their own "downtown" and drew businesses and jobs away from the traditional CBD and hub of the transit system.

Actually got this from a #7 alert for the NYC subway LOL.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-0 ... limbo.html

Los Angeles wouldn’t be able to replace $50 million in federal money it anticipates to help pay for the extension of its Westside subway along Wilshire Boulevard to the University of California at Los Angeles, said Villaraigosa, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Environmental report issued: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/p ... p?id=30335

Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report (EIR/EIS) for the Westside Subway Extension. Funded through the Measure R sales tax measure, the project calls for extending the agency’s Purple Line nine miles west from the Wilshire/Western station to the Westwood/VA area.

The final EIR/EIS includes recommendations for the alignment and seven station locations along the route, as well as environmental mitigations.

,,,

Based on the adopted funding schedule, LACMTA plans to build the project in three phases, with the final segment to the Westwood VA Hospital to be completed in 2036. The agency is seeking alternative financing solutions to build the extension in one phase and complete it in as little as 10 years.

Wow. 2036. Hope they find the financing.

From the LACMTA's blog: Highlights from the Westside Subway Extension’s final environmental study | The Source

They could start construction as early as next year.
With enough Federal funding, they expect that they could build the whole line by 2022.
Without it, they expect La Cienega by 2020, Century City by 2026, and Westwood by 2036.
It's about 3.9 mi from Wilshire&Western to La Cienega.

Metro Begins Pre-Revenue Operations on Expo Line Next Week | Streetsblog Los Angeles -- early February. That's final testing: imitation of revenue service. This means that the line will likely open out to La Cienega next month, and out to Culver City some weeks after that.

The Transit Coalition - Expo Line Phase 2 project developments has someone's picture of the right-of-way that the second phase of the Expo Line will be using. It's in the pre-construction stage; one picture shows a pile of old rail, dating back from 1916.

Construction continues on the Metro Gold Line, with the I-210 bridge getting its deck molds and related temporary structures. It should be done by this summer. Pre-construction work continues on the line east of that bridge, from Monrovia to Azusa. It's mainly looking for underground utilities.

Washington Delivers for Regional Connector - Los Angeles Downtown News - For Everything Downtown L.A.!: News
That's a connection in downtown LA between the two light-rail lines: the Blue Line and the Gold Line. Construction could start in 2013 and it could open in 2019.

Expo Line to open to the public on Saturday, April 28 | The Source

The long-awaited and much-anticipated Expo Line will open to the public on Saturday, April 28, said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chairman Antonio Villaraigosa before a test ride with members of the media on Friday morning.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Metrolink Chairman Richard Katz, who serve on the Metro Board of Directors, were on board the test ride for the announcement.

The line will initially open between 7th/Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles and the La Cienega station. The final station on the first phase of the project, at Venice and Robertson in Culver City, will open this summer.

It’s a date: Expo to roll in April | Zev Yaroslavsky
He expects the second part to be done around 2016, while the first article stated 2015.

“Some of us didn’t think we’d live long enough to see this day, but we’ve made it,” joked Yaroslavsky, standing on the platform of the new station at La Cienega and Jefferson. “This is the first light rail line, mass transit line, to serve the Westside of Los Angeles since the Red Car was dismantled in the 1950s, so this is a huge deal.”