It’s official: the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), in partnership with L.A. City Council Member David Ryu, yesterday announced that Metro will pursue a weekend-only closure of Wilshire Blvd for the planned Wilshire/La Brea Station decking operation now anticipated to begin this summer.
The closure is needed to install a concrete deck that will serve as the temporary street surface while construction of the Wilshire/La Brea station, the first to be built in the Metro Purple Line Extension Project, continues underneath. The Metro Purple Line Extension Project will bring the subway further west along Wilshire, ultimately to the Westwood/VA Hospital.
Metro’s original, baseline schedule of 22 weekend-only closures for the Wilshire-La Brea decking work was selected over a last-minute alternative plan that would have fully closed Wilshire Boulevard, from Highland Ave. to La Brea 24/7 for seven consecutive weeks. But a consensus of community and business interests gathered over the last several months at more than 50 meetings ultimately favored the original weekend-only closure operation.
“We have heard the call of the community, and we will now move forward with this critical subway station work,” said Mark Ridley-Thomas, Metro Board Chair in a press release yesterday. “Our goal is to build this project on time, on budget and with minimal disruption in a safe and efficient manner. This decision reflects Metro and its contractor’s commitment to truly listen and respond to community concerns throughout the entire length of construction.”
“When this construction project is completed, the subway is going to be a great addition to Los Angeles,” added L.A. City Council Member Ryu. “Building it will present some challenges for people who live and work in the area and I appreciate Metro’s partnership to work with us throughout the process. Ultimately, I am so grateful to the many residents who were actively involved in this important community dialogue.”
The full 22-weekend closure schedule will consist of three separate decking phases on the affected section of Wilshire. The first phase will include three weekend closures from Detroit Street to La Brea Avenue. The second phase will include three weekends at the La Brea intersection. And the third and biggest phase will involve 16 consecutive weekend closures from La Brea Avenue to Highland Avenue. (Note that the six weekend closures from Detroit through La Brea would have also been part of the project had the 7-week closure option been chosen for La Brea to Highland.)
During each weekend, Wilshire be closed beginning at 9 p.m. Friday evening and will reopen by 6 a.m. Monday morning. Each phase of the project will have a different set of traffic plans, detour routes, and mitigations. Once complete, the concrete decking will allow traffic to continue to flow on the street while station construction occurs below ground for the next few years.
The actual decking operation is now anticipated to start in June 2016 (instead of the originally planned April 2016 start), allowing the contractor to thoroughly review traffic plans with LADOT and Board of Public Works between now and then. During the weekend closures, the contractor will also include other work activities, when possible, to help the overall construction proceed as efficiently as possible. No work or closures are planned during Memorial Day Weekend in May, the Fourth of July or Labor Day weekends.
Metro and its contractor will continue working on approvals of traffic plans for the weekend closures and anticipate that approved plans will go to Board of Public Works in March.
Metro’s Construction Relations team will also continue to work closely with L.A. City Council Member David Ryu, as well as LADOT, to update the community on all upcoming detours and mitigations as they are approved. Maps and materials will be available to businesses to help prepare their customers in advance.
Members of the public who are interested in tracking this project are invited to attend Metro’s next community construction meeting on Thursday, March 17, 6:30 p.m., at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Brown Auditorium, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036.
For questions or concerns related to this work or any Purple Line Extension construction activity, the public can call Metro’s 24/7 project hotline at (213) 922-6934…or e-mail [email protected].
For more information about the Metro Purple Line Extension Project, see metro.net/purplelineext.
