Transportation authorities recently approved a 19.3-mile light rail route that would serve primarily working-class Latino areas in southeast Los Angeles County, and they decided to explore methods to speed up the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2043. The line extends northwest from Artesia to Union Station, passing via Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, and Vernon. It would give vital links to other lines, assisting in the development of a rail system that has been in the works for decades. However, when prices grew to US$8.5 billion, more than double the initial estimate, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority opted to divide the project into two halves.
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Details on the Los Angeles southeast light rail construction phases
The first 14.8-mile phase extends from Artesia to Slauson Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard, where it will link with the A (previously Blue) line. Groundbreaking for the $4.9 billion phases is scheduled for next year, with completion expected in around ten years. The second phase, which will be finished in 2043, will run north for 4.5 miles from the Slauson depot to Union Station. Approximately half of the line is slated to travel underground through Little Tokyo, where Metro construction has interrupted businesses for years and tunnelling is increasing expenses.
“These are the kinds of communities that require and deserve an initiative like this.” I can’t help but feel upset at how long it’s taken us to get here. “These areas are in desperate need, but I’ve seen other lines prioritized,” said county Supervisor Janice Hahn, a Metro board member, during a press conference on Friday. According to Metro, the region’s poverty rate is 47 per cent, and one in every five people does not have access to a car.
