Expo Line: A milestone

Local officials gathered Friday morning for what everyone agrees is a milestone for the MTA rail system: the groundbreaking of major construction on the Expo Line. The route from downtown L.A. to Culver City has been planned, debated  and revised many times over the last three decades. And officials said they were excited to finally have a rail route to the traffic-clogged Westside under construction.

"We have entered a new era of public transportation," said L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "L.A. is expected to grow 30% in the next 25 years. Just how many cars will clog our highways ... the answer is too many."

The $640-million project will include eight new stations and is expected to open in 2010. The Expo Line will run through southwest L.A. on an existing rail right-of-way -- something that has significantly reduced costs. But there have been concerns that the route misses some major Westside destinations such as West Hollywood, the Beverly Center area, Beverly Hills and the Miracle Mile.

Officials say they believe there will be ridership, particularly if Phase 2, from Culver City to Santa Monica, is built. But that section is in question because of budget battles in Sacramento.

The current work consists of building a huge trench in the USC-Exposition Park area.

-- Rong-Gong Lin II

Comments

[Tim]

I see this news, and it makes me really happy, and even though I can think of a few things that would make it a lot better (like grade separation so it's actually faster than driving), I have to acknowledge that it's something. I can just hope the rail system continues to slowly expand and get better with every line that is built. If they're able to finish the line all the way to santa monica, it would be HUGE. Let's hope.

[movielocke]

it's not a far walk on campus to the vermont /expo stop or to the Grand/Vermont stop.

The expo line will be EXTREMELY heavily trafficked by USC students on weekends to get to downtown, especially with LA LIVE and a multiplex theatre being built. Right now students have to either brave the magic johnson theatre or drive to the Grove or Hollywood to see a movie, shop, or eat anything remotely decent.

An 8-15 minute train ride is infinitely more convenient than making a trek all the way across LA to access any sort of weekend activity. The infrastructure and community around USC campus doesn't support a single damn thing to hold student interest (literally there is nothing worthwhile in the area). There are so many drunken incidents on the Row because there is no other outlet for most students. Having access to downtown via the expo line will change that in a major way; USC will contribute greatly to the revitalization and success of downtown because downtown will become an extension of the USC campus life due to the expo line. The USC administration hasn't figured that out, and have foolishly opposed the expo line.

[mike d.]

Does anyone know whether there is going to be a station at USC/Exposition Park? I know that it was up in the air because some of the USC administration did not want it.

[Ken Alpern]

Just as the figure for the 405 HOV Lane project suddenly jumped from $500 million to up to $950 million, the Expo Line to Culver City should have jumped up as well to accommodate inflation, rising construction material and labor costs, and added mitigation costs.

This project needs to include the elevated Venice/Robertson terminus as originally planned, and once the routing for Phase 2 is determined, the funding for a Venice/Robertson terminus should be found immediately.

Constructing and then deconstructing a Wesley Street interim terminus is both wasteful and unnecessary for a line that can and will go all the way to Santa Monica.

[Stephan]

Journalists who use subjective adjectives should be able to back up their decisions for using them. I didn't even get through the first line of Rong-Gong Lin's article before finding one I wished he'd define.

Why is LA's rail system "fledgling?" And by the same logic, couldn't LA's freeway system be viewed as fledgling? What's the criteria for that word? Is it that "there have been concerns that the route does not hit some major Westside destinations such as West Hollywood, the Beverly Center area, Beverly Hills and the Miracle Mile."

This is an article, or it should be, about opening a new line of the rail system. If this were a story about adding a carpool lane to the 405 between Sunset and Ventura Blvd, I suppose it would say "but there are concerns that the added lane will not relieve congestion on Highway 5." Kind of beside the point.

The system is growing, not fledgling. And it's becoming exponentially more valuable with every new addition. When the extensions to Culver City and East LA go online in the next couple of years, only those people driving to and from work every day will be able to say the system is fledgling.

[Shaun]

"But there have been concerns that the route does not hit some major Westside destinations such as West Hollywood, the Beverly Center area, Beverly Hills and the Miracle Mile."

That's b/c that is what the Red/Purple Line is suppose to go if they ever extend it. The Wilshire Corridor needs a subway line more than any other corridor in the nation.