The downtown Los Angeles rail system will receive a major overhaul this Friday with the inauguration of the project known as the Regional Connector of Meter.
The approximately $1.8 billion project adds three underground stations and will allow passengers to travel between Azusa and Long Beach and between East Los Angeles and Santa Monica without transferring.
The update will remove the train change previously required for passengers who had to get off incoming E (Expo) and A (Blue) Line trains at the Seventh Street/Metro Center Station and then board a subway train to get there. to Union Station, where they could then board a train on the L (Gold) Line for travel to East Los Angeles or Azusa.
Three new stations in Los Angeles
To make transfer-free travel possible, three new stations will open Friday: Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, Historic Broadway Station and Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill Station.
Those stations will allow trains on the A (Blue) and E (Expo) lines to continue beyond their former terminus to the 7th Street Station/Metro Center and through the downtown area to Union Station and beyond.
With the opening, there will no longer be an L (Gold) Line in the Metro system. The stretch of that line from Union Station to Azusa will simply be part of the A (Blue) Line, while the portion from Union Station to East Los Angeles will be added to the E (Expo) Line.
A multi-decade project
The history of the Regional Connector dates back to the 1990s when the original L Line was being planned, as the idea was for it to start at Seventh/Metro and be a continuation of the A Line. At the time, that plan proved unfeasible. due to funding problems, so the first segment of the L Line was built from Union Station to Pasadena.
In 2008, the Metro Board of Directors included initial funding for the Regional Connector in the Measure R sales tax ballot measure, which was approved by the voters of Los Angeles County.
At a Los Angeles Metro station, authorities are blasting classical music as part of a program to combat crime and deter those who would otherwise sleep in the station.
The project was also funded by approximately $1 billion in federal grants and loans, as well as state high-speed rail project bonds.
The project was originally envisioned as a street-level rail line, but was moved underground on demand to ensure trains would run faster, with fewer interruptions to regular traffic. The project started in October 2014.
According to Metro, its staff had to plan and create an entirely new subway beneath existing downtown Los Angeles streets and buildings, which involved moving utilities and shoring up other existing infrastructure.
Celebration for the new seasons
Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins will join members of the Metro Board of Directors, elected state leaders and Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden and White House Infrastructure Coordinator, on Friday to celebrate the grand opening in a ceremony at the Japanese American National Museum.
Metro Micro is a shared ride program that covers short distances in some of the eight areas where it operates.
The ceremony will include the unveiling of a plaque to be installed at Little Tokyo Station/Arts District in honor of former Transportation Secretary Norman Yoshio Mineta. Mineta oversaw the creation of the Transportation Security Administration in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that occurred early in his tenure.
There will also be performances by taiko drummers and a spiritual invocation.
As part of the Metro celebration, the transit agency will offer free rides from 3 am Friday through 3 am Monday on all Metro buses and trains, Metro Bike and Metro Micro.
