Los Angeles

“Subway to the Sea” Moves Forward

Emmett McOsker

Development of a long-discussed “Subway to the Sea,” a rail connection linking downtown Los Angeles to the Westside took step towards being realized Thursday. County transportation officials selected a general route from the Wilshire-Western station to the Veterans Hospital in Westwood. Both the route and final destination were the subjects of much debate, before receiving final approval by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members. Major issues of concern included the route's proximity to an earthquake fault line, and a proposal to run a portion of the route underneath Beverly Hills High School. MTA staff recommended the 9 ½-mile route to the Veterans Hospital because of higher ridership projections. The estimated cost of the project is $5.15 billion. The decision by board members sets the stage for the painstaking work of going block by block to establish the precise path and determine where to place stations. Construction is set to begin in 2013, after a final environmental impact review.

• Subway to the Sea: Long discussed project to extend a subway route from downtown L.A. to the Westside. On Thursday, city officials selected an official route and approved the project.
• New Route: The selected extension to L.A.'s purple line will run 9 ½ miles along Wilshire Blvd. and end about 3 ½ miles from the ocean at the Veterans Hospital in Westwood.
• Funding: The new subway will cost an estimated $5.15 billion. If federal government provided the anticipated funding, the project could be completed as early as 2021.

Additional Reading:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/10/westside-subway.html