23 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

L.A. Metro Source, 5/22/20:

 

  Purple Line Extension progress: both tunneling machines have now reached future Wilshire/Fairfax Station! 

 

 

 

Metro today reports that both of its massive tunneling machines have officially reached the future Wilshire/Fairfax subway station near the La Brea Tar Pits in the Miracle Mile. Tunneling for the first three miles of this four-mile initial project section is now complete.

 

Update

[KevinKorell]

Streetsblog L.A., 8/21/20:

 

   Metro Committee Approves $200M Cost Overrun for Purple Line Subway Extension     

 

 

 

Yesterday, the Metro board Construction Committee approved a budget increase of $200 million for construction of the Westside Purple Line Extension Section 1 (WPLE1).

 

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[KevinKorell]

L.A. Metro Source, 3/2/21:

 

 

    New survey on accessing first three Purple (D Line) Extension stations  

 

 

As construction continues for the Purple (D Line) Extension beneath Wilshire Boulevard, Metro is working to develop a first/last mile plan to improve biking, walking and rolling access to and from the extension’s first three stations.

 

Item

[CNJRoss]

RT&S, 3/2/21

 

 

L.A. Metro’s Elsie makes another break through for Purple Line Extension Project

 

L.A. Metro’s Purple Line Extension Project continues to make progress.

 

 

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announced that its first tunnel boring machine (TBM), named Elsie, has officially broken through to the Wilshire/La Cienega subway station site in Beverly Hills.

 

It is the first of two TBMs that will reach this last station on Section 1 of the Metro Purple (D) Line Extension Project.

Tunneling for the first 4-mile section of the project is now two-thirds complete.  . . .

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

LACMTA The Source blog, 3/1/21

 

First tunneling machine reaches future Wilshire/La Cienega subway station

 

 

 

 

Metro today announced that its first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), named Elsie, on Thursday broke through to the Wilshire/La Cienega subway station in Beverly Hills. It is the first of two TBMs that will reach this last station on Section 1 of the Metro D Line (Purple) Extension project.

 

Tunneling for the first four-mile section of the subway project is now two-thirds complete. More than 90 percent of the tunnels have been mined safely and Metro anticipates completing tunnel mining this summer. Excavation for all three subway station boxes beneath Wilshire Boulevard has been completed.

 

Elsie, the 1,000-ton, 400-feet long Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), started west at the Wilshire/Fairfax station on May 29, 2020, and broke through to the Wilshire/La Cienega station site about one mile away on February 25. Metro’s first TBM “Elsie” arrived at Wilshire/Fairfax on April 4, 2020.

 

Reaching this milestone is a significant win for Metro. Section 1 of project tunneling has presented challenges that have been successfully overcome by the project. En route to Wilshire/La Cienega, the agency’s modern, high-tech TBMs have mined through a unique combination of soils and geologic conditions, including tar sands and methane gas.

 

Continue here w/additional photos.

[KevinKorell]

In digging the tunnels for the D (Purple) Line, what is commonly called an "anomaly" was encountered.  Something was in the way.  It was thought to be either an old metal pipe or even an underground bridge over a stream.   From Larchmont Buzz, 2/4/21:

 

 

 

   Metro Provides Updates on Purple (D) Line Subway Construction  

 

 

 

With everything else going on the the world today, it’s often easy to forget there are some things proceeding pretty much according to plan at the moment…and one of them – with just a couple of small hiccups – is the ongoing construction of the Purple Line (soon to be known as the D Line) Subway Extension.

 

(snip)

 

Perhaps the most intriguing detail of the Purple Line construction in the last few months is the underground “anomaly” found in the path of the planned tunnels near Wilshire and San Vicente. 

 

Read

[KevinKorell]

Another item that mentions the anomaly, in Streetsblog L.A., 3/29/21:

 

 

   How Metro Successfully Tunneled Through Challenging Conditions For First Wilshire Subway Extension    

 

 

On Friday, Metro’s second tunneling machine broke through at the future La Cienega Station. Construction on the Westside Purple Line Extension Section 1 project (WPLE1) is now 70 percent complete, with more than 98 percent of tunneling safely completed.

 

More

[KevinKorell]

Beverly Press, 11/23/22:

 

 

    Subway work in Beverly Hills stops for holidays  

 

 

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is temporarily halting work in public spaces on the Purple Line Extension project in Beverly Hills in compliance with a moratorium on construction from Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s Day. Work will continue within the Wilshire/Rodeo station, and at other locations along the subway alignment outside of Beverly Hills.

 

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[KevinKorell]

L.A. Metro Source, 3/17/23:

 

 

   Temporary decking removed at future Wilshire/Fairfax Station for Purple (D Line) Extension  

 

 

The Purple Line (D Line) Extension reached a major milestone earlier this month when the design-builder (STS) completed the removal of temporary decking of the street at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.

 

Update

[KevinKorell]

L.A. Metro Source, 3/13/23:

 

 

   Limited D Line service for 30 days begins Monday, March 20, due to Purple Line Extension construction    

 

 

On Monday, March 20, and continuing for approximately 30 days, D Line (Purple) service will be interrupted due to construction of the Purple Line Extension Project. During this time, the D Line will only run between Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/Vermont Stations.  

 

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