Starting in late September, Metro will remove the last of the temporary concrete street decking that has facilitated access to its Wilshire/La Brea underground construction site since 2016.
According to Metro representative Ned Racine, in a community presentation on August 23, Phase 1 of the decking removal, from Orange Dr. to La Brea Ave., was completed in 2022, and the coming Phase 2 project will complete the decking removal and street restoration from La Brea to Detroit St. The work is scheduled to be done over six weekends from September 29 to November 6…though both Racine and design-build contractor representative Scott Donohue said it’s very likely the project will be completed in just four weekends instead of six.
Currently, Metro is planning to do the decking removal (and re-filling the 17 feet of dirt between the Wilshire/La Brea subway station roof and the road surface above) during the weekends of September 29-October 2, October 6-9, and October 13-16.
Street restoration, paving, and striping (between Mansfield Ave. and Detroit St.) will then be done on a fourth weekend, from October 20-23. Additional potential closures are scheduled for the weekends of October 27-30 and November 3-6, but both Racine and Donohue said those are considered contingency dates, to be used only if there are rain or other delays on any of the previous four weekends.
According to Metro, the street closures will begin at 9 p.m. on Fridays during the scheduled weekends, and streets will open again by 6 a.m. on Mondays — though Donohue noted that during the previous deck removal project, work usually wrapped up around 7 p.m. on Sundays, and he expects the same will be true with this project. Metro has also requested closure permissions for peak traffic hours on Monday mornings, but “this will only be implemented if the road is unsafe for use by Monday at 6 a.m.,” which both Donohue and Racine said is unlikely.
During the work periods, Wilshire Blvd. will be fully closed between Citrus Ave. and Cloverdale Ave. La Brea Ave. will also be fully closed in both directions at Wilshire Blvd.
Detours will be established in all directions during the closures, as shown on the map below. Donohue and Racine said signs will alert approaching motorists to the closures/detours, and notifications will also be provided to both emergency responders and traffic apps like Wayze.
Metro promises further updates as the closure dates approach, but in the meantime, if there are any questions or concerns, you can reach Metro via phone, email, website, or social media at the numbers and addresses below.
