38 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

LACMTA news release:

 

Metro Board Approves Budget, Project Agreements to Build Second Phase of the Foothill Gold Line Project

Friday June 23, 2017

 

First Measure M transit project gets green light

  The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board today approved a $1.4-billion budget and partnership agreements to extend the Metro Gold Line in the San Gabriel Valley another 11.5 miles east to Claremont.

 

Partnership agreements establish a funding plan and shared roles and responsibilities between Metro and the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, the agency that will build the extension. Metro will fund the portion of the new segment from Glendora to Claremont within Los Angeles County. The Construction Authority plans to utilize other funding to complete the line to Montclair in San Bernardino County as part of the overall project.

 

The extension will be the first rail line to begin construction from a multitude of new transit projects funded by Metro’s Measure M half-cent transportation sales tax approved by L.A. County voters in November 2016.

“This second phase of the Foothill Gold Line is truly significant because it’s the very first Measure M transit project out of the gate,” said John Fasana, Metro Board Chair and Mayor Pro Tem for the city of Duarte. “It will establish the early momentum we need to launch our ambitious new traffic improvement plan that will yield tremendous transportation benefits for the entire Los Angeles County area.”

 

Under the terms of the funding agreement, Metro will use Measure M and other local and state funds to pay for construction. Metro plans to apply for a $249-million grant from the state’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to complete life-of-project budget requirements. Should that funding be unavailable, Metro will pursue other options and approaches to meet the full funding needs of the project. The Board also approved the transfer of an additional $26 million in cost savings from the Construction Authority’s Gold Line segment to Azusa, which opened in March 2016. Combined with previously approved savings, nearly $100 million of residual Measure R funds dedicated for the full Foothill Gold Line project will be used to complete the next segment from Glendora to Claremont.

 

“Today is a major milestone for our agency and the residents, students and workers of the project’s corridor cities who eagerly await the Gold Line’s arrival,” said Doug Tessitor, Chairman of the Construction Authority Board of Directors. “We thank Metro for its continued partnership and support of the project – especially Chairman Fasana for his dedication and commitment. We look forward to working together to make this next project as successful as the previous Gold Line segments.” 

       

The Funding Agreement and Master Cooperative Agreement define the working relationships and processes needed for Metro to fund work and collaborate with the Construction Authority. These agreements set the foundation for identifying and implementing a detailed budget and means for disbursement, tracking and management of funds, safety and quality throughout the course of the design-build project.

 

“This project will create a critical new transit connection for Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire areas when it’s completed,” said Phillip A. Washington, Metro CEO. “The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is a great partner in helping us expand our public transportation infrastructure.  We look forward to partnering with them to deliver this project on-time and on-budget.”

 

The extension will provide a safe, reliable transit alternative to driving the busy 210 and 10 freeways and offer a connection with Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line. A planned extension from Claremont to Montclair will add about another mile when funding is secured. A trip from Montclair to Pasadena should take just over 40 minutes, and a trip from Montclair to Los Angeles would be about 75 minutes.

 

To date, the Construction Authority has environmentally cleared the project and completed advanced engineering for the entire alignment. The authority expects to award its first contract for advanced utility relocation later this year. The project’s official groundbreaking is planned for October, with plans to open to the public by 2027.

 

For more Metro information about this program, please visit https://www.metro.ne...hill-extension/.

 

For more information from the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, please visit http://www.foothillgoldline.org/.

 

 

[KevinKorell]

A piecemeal approach gets shorter segments of rail lines built so that they can be enjoyed and serve as an example to stimulate further construction.  However, it is a shame that a little extra funding could not be secured in order to get this phase to Montclair. To build 11 miles of the 12-mile extension, leaving just a mile remaining, seems short-sighted.  If the 12 miles were separated into segments of 6 and 6, I could better understand the process, but not 11 and 1.

 

Claremont will have to serve as an end-of-line station (with the accompanying parking issues) for an interim period until the Montclair station and the extension to it are open.  Perhaps they could open the Montclair station as a park & ride (without the trains) and have frequent shuttles to Claremont.

 

Another thing is that the Metro Gold Line is getting up there in mileage.  It is currently 31 miles from the Atlantic station in East L.A. to APU/Citrus College in Azusa, and another 11-12 miles puts it to the mid-40's.   When the Downtown Connector opens and the current routes are realigned, this line (minus the East L.A. segment it will lose) will get much longer as it will become the Blue Line and go all the way to Long Beach (current Blue Line Los Angeles-Long Beach is 22 miles).   The longer the route, the more opportunity for operational issues that can affect the whole line.  Denver has learned this and is splitting their "D" line into "D" and "L" segments that loop downtown.  Los Angeles may find that despite the expense of the Regional Connector tunnel project, it may have to do the same.

[KevinKorell]

San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Monrovia, CA editorial, 6/28/17:

 

 

 

Metro Gold Line funding gets light rail closer to Claremont

 

 

 

The good news for rapid transit in the San Gabriel Valley is that the Metro board voted last week to fund the 11.5-mile extension of the Gold Line from Glendora east to Claremont to the tune of $1.4 billion.

 

The bad news is that the nine-year project is still in search of $249 million of that funding.

 

 

Entire editorial

[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 10/2/17:

 

Construction authority OKs contract for L.A. Metro Gold Line light-rail extension

 

The Gold Line extension to Azusa, California, opened in 2016. Photo – L.A. Metro's blog

 

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority's board has awarded a $2.6 million utility relocation design-bid-build contract to W.A. Rasic Construction Co. Inc. for a 12.3-mile light-rail project between Glendora and Montclair, California.

The contract is the first of two to be procured as part of the $1.4 billion Glendora-to-Montclair segment, which will extend the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) Gold Line route through communities in the San Gabriel Valley and into San Bernardino County.

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

News on the groundbreaking for next phase beyond Azusa, from e-mail sent by Gold Line construction authority:
 

E-NEWS UPDATE October 20, 2017 SAVE THE DATE: December 2, 2017 - Glendora to Montclair Groundbreaking Ceremony

(click to enlarge)

As a reminder, the Glendora to Montclair Groundbreaking Ceremony was originally planned to take place this coming weekend, but was later rescheduled for December 2, 2017 at 9:30 AM. 
The Construction Authority invites the public to join us on the rescheduled date – December 2 – at Citrus College in Glendora to celebrate the official kick-off of the Foothill Gold Line from Glendora to Montclair.
More details will be announced soon.

[Sloan]

 

 

Construction Authority Begins Procurement Process to Hire Design-Build Team to Build $1.5 Billion Light Rail Project

 

MONROVIA, Calif., Nov. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority (Construction Authority) issued the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Alignment Design-Build Project; initiating a year-long process to hire the design-build team that will build the $1.5 billion, six-station Foothill Gold Line light rail extension from Glendora to Montclair. The RFQ is the first of a two-step, competitive process, that will result in a short-list of the most qualified teams to compete for the work. The RFQ requires interested teams and/or firms to detail their qualifications to complete all elements of the light rail project, experience completing similar projects, credentials of their key personnel, a staffing plan and their expected main subcontractors. They must also demonstrate financial and legal qualifications to conduct the work.

https://www.prnewswi...-300552384.html

[KevinKorell]

San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Monrovia, CA, 11/20/17:

 

 

Building Glendora-to-Montclair Gold Line extension will bring thousands of workers, billions in spending to SGV’s foothill cities

 

Construction of the 12.3-mile Glendora-to-Montclair extension of the Gold Line will be expensive, costing about $1.5 billion in public funds, while also causing dust, detours and delays in six foothill cities for the next nine years.

 

 

Article

[KevinKorell]

Groundbreaking announcement

[KevinKorell]

US News & World Report, 12/2/17:
 

 

LA County Metro Breaks Ground on $1.5B Light Rail Extension

 
Officials have held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the latest expansion of Los Angeles County's growing light rail commuter system.

The event Saturday at Citrus College in Glendora celebrated the start of work on a $1.5 billion, 12.3-mile (19.8-kilometer) extension of the Metro Gold Line from Azusa in the eastern San Gabriel Valley to Montclair in western San Bernardino County.

 

 

Update

[CNJRoss]

KPCC-FM (NPR) Los Angeles, CA 12/2/17:

LA Metro breaks ground on 12-mile Gold Line extension

 

Officials gather at Citrus College in Glendora on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, for the ceremonial groundbreaking on the Gold Line extension that will stretch to Montclair. Steve Hymon/LA Metro

 

 

Officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking Saturday morning for the latest expansion of Los Angeles County's growing light rail system.

 

The event at Citrus College in Glendora celebrated the start of work on a $1.5 billion, 12.3-mile extension of the Metro Gold Line from Azusa in the eastern San Gabriel Valley to Montclair in western San Bernardino County.

 

The extension will have six stations.

A map of the Gold Line extension from Azusa to Montclair. Courtesy of LA Metro

Continue here.