The nightmarish commute between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica soon could take no more than 46 minutes – even during rush hour – with Expo Line Phase Two opening in the spring.
On Monday, County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Mayor Garcetti boarded one of the new trains being tested on the tracks in Palms. Los Angeles City Councilmen Mike Bonin and Paul Koretz joined them.
“The dream that many of us have had for a long time – to be able to ride the train from downtown all the way to Santa Monica – is almost a reality,” said Mr. Ridley-Thomas, who became chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors this morning.
“Almost 92 percent complete, Expo Line Phase Two will be delivered on time, on budget,” he said. “Not only will it shorten commutes and increase mobility, it is creating jobs in the community.”
Under construction since fall 2011, the $1.5 billion project has created 3,000 jobs and provided work to 300 small businesses. Half of those hired live within a five-mile radius of the project, or in zip codes with high rates of unemployment.
“Phase Two puts people to work, greens the environment, and ultimately gets people where they need to be,” Mr. Ridley-Thomas said. “That’s the triple bottom line.”
The Exposition Construction Authority, an independent transportation planning, design and construction agency, contracted with Skanska-Rados Joint Venture to build the new rail line. This fall, it will turn over the system to Metro.
Phase One of the Expo Line stretches 8.6 miles and carries 30,000 passengers daily between downtown Los Angeles to Culver City. Phase Two is a 6.6-mile extension to downtown Santa Monica that runs mostly parallel to the 10 Freeway, giving commuters an alternative to the driving the freeway.
Its terminus is a few blocks from the Santa Monica Pier, prompting Mayor Garcetti to say it can take passengers “from Grand (Avenue) to the sand.”
Both phases combined are projected to carry 64,000 passengers daily between downtown and Santa Monica by 2030.
Mayor Garcetti said Metro’s rail system is in the midst of an unprecedented expansion. Thanks to Measure R — a half-cent sales tax that voters agreed to pay over 30 years for transportation improvements — the Crenshaw/LAX Line, Regional Connector, and Purple Line Extension are simultaneously under construction, and more projects are in the pipeline.
“This is one of the largest public works programs in the U.S. right now,” Mr. Garcetti said. “We’re putting Angelenos back to work, putting the recession in the rear view mirror, helping people get home faster to have dinner with their families, and providing traffic relief in the car capital of the world.”