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The Source for Public Transportation News and Analysis July 13, 2012
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NEWS HEADLINES
L.A. Metro Completes Orange Line Extension

Los Angeles Metro marked the completion of the Metro Orange Line Extension—a four-mile addition to the popular dedicated busway between Canoga Park and Chatsworth—on June 29. The project, which was completed three and a half years ahead of schedule and $61 million under budget, entered service the following day.

With the opening of the extension, the Metro Orange Line is now 18 miles long.

Los Angeles Metro built the north-south busway extension on a former Union Pacific right-of-way it owns. The line includes four new stations, three new or reconfigured parking lots, a new busway bridge over active railroad tracks, two new busway bridges that cross waterways, new signalized busway/street crossings, street resurfacing improvements, a new bicycle/pedestrian path, and landscaping similar to the original Metro Orange Line.

The Orange Line Extension is the first public transit project completed under Los Angeles County Measure R, a half-cent sales tax passed by voters in 2008 to finance new transportation projects and programs. Construction began in 2009; prior to the passage of Measure R, completion was scheduled for 2016. The original $215.6 million budget is currently forecast to come in at approximately $154 million; the final project savings will depend on the closeout of the project, including the resolution of any final change orders with the contractor.

“Today we celebrate yet another Measure R transit milestone in Los Angeles,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who also chairs the Los Angeles Metro board. “The busway extension will greatly expand the connectivity of the region’s transportation network, creating new linkages between Metro, Southern California’s Metrolink [commuter rail] system, and the statewide Amtrak network. It is the latest example of how Metro is creating a world-class, 21st -century transportation system in Los Angeles County.”

In addition to the Measure R funding, Metro secured support from other sources to help pay for busway construction. This freed up $182 million that had been earmarked for this transit project, which can be applied to another San Fernando Valley transportation improvement subject to Metro board approval.

“The Orange Line is the most successful busway in America,” added Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board Member Zev Yaroslavsky. “With the opening of this new segment, the northwest San Fernando Valley will now be served by this very popular mass transit line.”

The line extension operated free June 30 and July 1. Community festivities June 30 at the Canoga and Chatsworth stations included food trucks, live music, and group bike rides.

 

Photo by Gary Leonard/Los Angeles Metro

The first Metro Orange Line bus crashes through a banner to commemorate completion of the line’s four-mile extension.

 
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