In a public lunchtime webinar yesterday (Thursday, May 14), Metro provided a community update on the progress of Section 1 of the Purple Line Subway Extension Project. Kicking things off, Purple Line Construction Relations Manager Marlon Walker noted that Metro’s federally-funded capital projects, including the Purple Line, are not subject to California’s coronavirus-related shutdowns, and also that construction and transportation infrastructure are designated “essential” businesses specifically allowed to continue during the COVID-19 crisis. Which means that Purple Line subway construction is definitely continuing, with additional measures to keep workers safe on the job.
With that top-of-mind message out of the way, Senior Public Relations Officer Ned Racine reported that construction has begun on the “Division 20” project about a mile south of Union Station downtown, which will widen Metro’s rail portals to make room for the additional subway cars that will be needed for the expanded Purple Line. That project is scheduled to be completed in 2023.
Racine also noted that the entirety of the Purple Line Extension project is still on schedule, with Section 1 (from Western Ave. to La Cienega Blvd.) scheduled to open in 2023, and the full length of the extension, from Western Ave. to the Veteran’s Hospital in West LA, open in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Currently, moving west along Wilshire Blvd. from the current Purple Line station at Western Ave., residents will notice a work area near Wilshire and Rimpau, where construction will soon begin on Cross Passage 12 – an underground passage between the two parallel train tunnels. (Similar cross-passage tunnels will be built at regular intervals along the full path of the subway line.)
Moving closer to the new La Brea station, at Wilshire and Sycamore, Racine reported that a more permanent construction opening in the center of Wilshire, which had been in place for more than two years, has now been fully removed, and traffic flow in the area has returned to normal.
Because the permanent opening has been removed, however, Racine noted that workers will now need to open panels in the street, and close lanes of traffic, occasionally, to facilitate certain deliveries to the underground construction area throughout the rest of the year. But those closures will be temporary and comparatively short-lived, he said.
Also, as has been previously reported, Metro will be constructing a 62-foot radio antenna at Wilshire and Sycamore, to aid communications with the station’s underground radio room, which will be located in the eastern end of the underground station.
Coming to the first new station on the extended line, at Wilshire and La Brea, Racine reported that workers are currently constructing the arched roof structure, which will provide additional structural support so the station will not need a central pillar in the middle of it like the older Red Line stations have.
Also, starting this summer and continuing for the rest of the year, crews will be building various underground appendage structures for the La Brea station, including emergency exits, utility rooms, vent rooms and more.
Moving west, Racine said the second Tunnel Borning Machine, nicknamed Soyeon, will reach the Fairfax station around May 20. The first TBM, nicknamed Elsie, is already resting at Fairfax (the photo below shows workers changing her cutting blade), and will start moving west toward La Cienega on May 26.
A bit further west, near Wilshire and Crescent Heights, workers have installed concrete K-rails in the street to help with gas mitigation efforts in the area, and also are continuing exploratory drilling to locate old oil wells and other potential hazards in the area before the TBMs arrive there.
And moving toward the final station area in Section 1, at Wilshire and La Cienega, crews are now working just west of San Vicente Blvd. to begin excavation and construction of various underground appendage structures in that area.
Finally, providing an update on Metro’s Business Interruption Fund, which provides financial assistance to merchants whose businesses along the construction route have been negatively affected by the project, BIF representative Jessica Spearman noted that while the fund is still making awards to the businesses it serves, it does NOT cover losses that are due to COVID-19 restrictions – only those that are a direct result of the subway construction.
The next full Purple Line Community Webinar, covering all three sections of the Extension route, will be held on Wednesday, August 5.
Until then, for questions or more information, you can reach Metro at:
And yesterday’s full presentation is also currently online at https://www.dropbox.com/s/ma7ajonc28ufbxe/Section%201%20Quarterly%20Community%20Meeting%205.14.20%20%281%29.pdf?dl=0
