Expo Line's new lifeline

The Expo Line has won some much-needed financing from the state, The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II reports:

The California Transportation Commission on Wednesday approved a crucial piece of funding for construction of the Exposition Line light-rail line, committing the final $314 million needed to build the project. "It's good news. And it's good to see the state keeping its promises," said David Yale, director of regional planning for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Major construction on the 8.6-mile route between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City began in August and is expected to be completed in 2010. The line will cost about $640 million to build.

Comments

[Wright Concept]

"Would someone please explain to me why an Expo Line train going eastbound has to go into the tunnel? Send it down Washington Boulevard, then move it north on new trackage toward Union Station, finally joining with the Gold Line to Pasadena or East Los Angeles."

It would cost more, take longer to operate and take riders away from the destinations on the line.

[Dan W.]

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/365307.html

This article needs its own thread. But sign me up. It's good to see transit fighting back from the great theft.

[Left by Leftwest]

From Venice/Robertson, the expo line will go down the old tracks parallel to Exposition Blvd. (if they can move the Wonder Bread truck and the Frito Lay truck out from behind Albertsons). From there west...straight shot over some very "important toes" furnishing city officials with....well, think Heidi Fleish.

[John M.]

Would someone please explain to me why an Expo Line train going eastbound has to go into the tunnel? Send it down Washington Boulevard, then move it north on new trackage toward Union Station, finally joining with the Gold Line to Pasadena or East Los Angeles.

The only piece of this puzzle is a mile or so of trackage from Union Station to where the Blue Line turns south. It would also mean trains from Pasadena and East Los Angeles to Long Beach.

I'll sit back now and wait for the engineers to price this link for a couple of miles of electrified trackage at $500 million.

[Ken Alpern]

Our next steps?

1) Make sure that the state throws in the $40 million to have the interim western terminus at Wesley Street be replaced by the elevated Venice/Robertson station that has always been in the cards

2) Figure out the routing of the Westside Expo Line Segment to Santa Monica

3) Calculate the right amount of state funding for a federal match project of a Westside Expo Line Segment calculated at $8-900 million

[R. Moses]

And here is the actually story about the $314MM:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-expo6sep06,1,4816265.story

[movielocke]

is this for phase 1 or phase 2 of the expo line? I thought all the funding was in place for phase 1, I also thought it was scheduled for a 2009 opening, glad to see the MTA is already falling behind.

[mike]

I am willing to pay more taxes to build multiple rail lines at once. I also find this to be a good strategy as not as many people can gripe about how they need it more than the other person. I think it is clear that the purple line is the most important line in all of los angeles county. Tax me, I really want this!! I wish eli broad and dicaprio could step up and help with global warming and help us fund these projects. Anybody???

[Dan W.]

Woo hoo. Thank goodness.

Now let's get the Purple and Pink lines built and the Green Line to LAX.

The saddest part of the Mayor's recent personal troubles is that they occurred at the time he needed to be on fire in Sacramento, fighting for every transportation dollar. Marital difficulties didn't stop Giuliani from bumping heads together when he needed to. How many years were these needed transportation projects set back because the Mayor was in low profile.

I wish him and his family well, but the Mayor needs to get back in the game, fighting for every transportation dollar, in both Sacramento and Washington.

Thanks goodness some funding still managed to come through.

Now watch the BRU come out and try to rain on the parade and say that Exposition Line money should all be spent on plodding 40 foot buses.

[RB]

Let's have an informal poll...would we really not support an increase in the LA county gas tax to help fund some of these projects, as the mayor claims? IF a support for the increase would allow the MTA to construct multiple rail lines at once then maybe we should consider it. At least we would see the money being used.