Crenshaw/LAX Line - Budget Lax

The Crenshaw/LAX Line is an under-construction light-rail line that will run through southwest Los Angeles. The line will run generally north-south and will connect the Crenshaw Neighborhood and Leimert Park to the City of Inglewood and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). When completed, the line will be a part of the Los Angeles County Metro Rail System.

When completed, it will run from Jefferson Park in the north to El Segundo in the south with a projected ridership of 16,000. Also, the Metro Green Line will use a portion of the corridor near LAX for its northern extension.

The project is being built by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The project has been given high priority by Metro in its long-range plan, and has funding set aside in Measure R.

The Final EIR was certified on 22 September 2011. FTA approval to build the $1.766 billion light rail line was given in January 2012.

Metro began pre-construction in July 2012, and a Notice To Proceed was issued by Metro in September 2013. An official ground-breaking ceremony for the project was held on January 21, 2014. Heavy construction began in June 2014 and initial revenue service projected to begin by 2019.

Future service

When completed, the Crenshaw/LAX Line project will result in a new light-rail service, currently referred to in official planning documents as the Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line. This line will operate between Expo/Crenshaw station in the north and Aviation/Century in the south. Eventually to Redondo Beach station once the stations west of Aviation/LAX station can accommodate 3-car trains. North of Imperial, it will run exclusively on track from the Crenshaw Corridor project; if the line runs south of Imperial, it will share existing tracks with the Metro Green Line.

Green Line & LAX People Mover

In addition, the Metro Green Line will begin a new service branch pattern to the north, connecting Norwalk to the new Aviation/Century station and planned 96th Street Transit station. This new "northern extension" of the Green Line will allow for faster connections to both the Crenshaw/LAX Line and the future planned people mover, Airport Metro Connector.

Possible Lettering

In 2015, Metro proposed a plan to realign Metro Rail service to accommodate the opening of the Crenshaw/LAX Line and the Regional Connector, and in the process to change the designation of Metro Rail lines from colors and names to letters with a secondary color identifier. Under the tentative plans, upon the opening of the Crenshaw/LAX Line project, Line K, colored grey on maps, would provide service between Crenshaw/Expo and Redondo Beach, and Line L, colored pink on maps, would provide service between Norwalk and Aviation/Century.

Route

The Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line will operate on a new 8.5-mile light-rail (LRT) route, starting at the Expo/Crenshaw station on the Metro Expo Line, and ending at the line's destination at the existing Aviation/LAX station (on the Metro Green Line).

An infill station, Aviation/96th Street, will be built later to accommodate a planned people mover system at LAX.

The northern half of the route follows Crenshaw Boulevard from Exposition Blvd down to 67th Street. The southern half of the route utilizes the Harbor Subdivision Right-Of-Way (ROW) from Crenshaw Boulevard to the Green Line just south of Imperial/Aviation.

At its northern terminus, Metro has decided not to directly connect the Crenshaw Line track to the at-grade Metro Expo Line track. Such a connection would have allowed the Crenshaw Line to interline with the Expo Line and terminate in Downtown Los Angeles. However, Metro argues that this is not operationally feasible (three lines would share tracks on Flower Street, leading to delays), and is therefore not worth the cost. Instead, its northern terminus will be an underground subway station at Expo/Crenshaw, from where the line will be extended to the Wilshire/La Cienega station on the Purple Line and the Hollywood/Highland on the Red Line in Hollywood.

At its southern terminus, the Crenshaw Line's route will have direct track connections to the Green Line corridor. (The Metro Green Line already has an aerial "wye" junction built into it: this will allow Metro to connect the two corridors with minimal disruption to Green Line service.)

Station listing

The project will include eight new Metro stations (with a proposed ninth infill station currently in the planning stages):

• Expo/Crenshaw (underground) â€" connection to Expo Line
• Martin Luther King Jr (underground)
• Leimert Park (underground)
• Hyde Park (at-grade)
• Fairview Heights (at-grade)
• Downtown Inglewood (aerial)
• Westchester/Veterans (at-grade)
• Aviation/96th Street (at-grade) â€" Planned future connection to LAX people mover (aerial).
• Aviation/Century (aerial)

History

The line was conceived following the Los Angeles riots of 1992, as a way to better serve transit-dependent residents in the corridor, while at the same time providing stimulus for positive economic growth in South Los Angeles. It was championed by California State Senator Diane Watson and County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, both representing portions of the corridor.

In 1993-94, a Major Investment Study (MIS) was initiated. An architectural design and planning visioning was performed by the USC school of Architecture in 1996. A route refinement study followed in 1999-2000 to improve the shelf life and to narrow down the number of alternatives.

A new Major Investment Study (MIS) was completed in 2003. From 2007 through 2009, Metro conducted a draft environmental review of the line, taking public input and analyzing the environmental impacts and benefits of various alternatives. In December 2009, the Metro Board approved the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and chose a "Locally Preferred Alternative" (LPA).

This alternative, which included the preferred mode and route, became the subject of a final environmental study, resulting in a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). This final study was completed in May 2011.

Local community leaders, neighborhood councils, L.A. County Supervisors Yvonne Burke and Mark Ridley-Thomas, and Congresswoman Diane Watson continued to express enthusiastic support for the proposed light-rail line. In a letter to Metro dated November 5, 2007, Congresswoman Watson wrote:

Having advocated strenuously for a light rail 'spur line' to carry passengers from the Wilshire Corridor down the Crenshaw Corridor and, ultimately, to LAX for 25 years now, I am delighted to offer continued encouragement, advocacy and feedback for a Metro study (to)…avoid aggravating (the) Leimert Park traffic bottleneck, Coliseum to Vernon;…Wilshire/La Brea station connection to Westside Corridor line, avoiding hydrogen sulfide;…fully consider (the) below-grade option. (Comment ID 116-125 in the cited link)

Environmental review process

The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) describes several alternatives, as well as "Design Options" (optional features with additional cost). Many other alignments were considered previously, but eliminated due to lack of feasibility or benefit.

The following table summeriazes key characteristics of each alternative:

* in 2008 dollars.

Maintenance facility

Metro staff studied and ranked 16 potential sites for the required maintenance facility. Through several rounds of screening, all but five were eliminated.

In March 2011, a Supplemental DEIS/R was released to the public, specifically related to the maintenance facility. This study was completed due to changes to capacity requirements of the Crenshaw Line. Three of the screened sites were carried forward into this study, and one new site was added. The four site options studied in the Supplemental DEIS/R (from north to south) are:

Following the public comment period in April 2011, staff recommended adoption of the Arbor Vitae/Bellanca site, since it had no public objections and all environmental impacts could be mitigated.

Selected alternative

In December 2009, the Metro Board selected a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA), and in 2010 Metro conducted the Final Environmental Study for this alternative. This alternative included the LRT Baseline alignment, plus Design Options 1, 2 and 4. At this time, Metro also authorized further study of the remaining design options.

In selecting this alternative, Metro staff eliminated the BRT (bus rapid transit) alternative, stating that it was too slow to provide much benefit, and that it generally lacked public support.

Metro staff also concluded that the northernmost portion of the Crenshaw Corridor between Exposition and Wilshire was too expensive to include in the project if implemented as light-rail. Thus, study and implementation of that segment was deferred, to be considered separately in the future as a northern extension ("Phase 2") of the Crenshaw Line (see section below).

Metro estimated the light-rail line will initially have a daily ridership between 13,000 and 16,000, would cost $1.3 billion - $1.8 billion (in 2008 dollars), would take five years to complete construction, and would generate 7,800 construction jobs over this period.

Grade separations

The route had several segments under consideration for grade-separations. The LRT Baseline (DEIR) included a minimal set of grade separations: the design options specified additional grade separations. The locally preferred alternative (LPA) adopted by the Metro Board included the LRT Baseline plus some additional grade separations (e.g. Design Options 1, 2 and 4). Other grade separations were also still under consideration. All grade separations are subject to the Metro Grade Crossing Policy.

The following table describes the Crenshaw Corridor's route, divided into segments with potential grade-separations:

Notes:

• DO1: Design Option 1, $11 million. Approved and in LPA.
• DO2: Design Option 2, $16 million. Approved and in LPA.
• DO3: Design Option 3, $13 million. Studied; ultimately not adopted.
• DO4: Design Option 4, $29 million. Approved and in LPA.
• DO6: Design Option 6, $236 million. Studied; added to project in 2013.
• PMH: Study of grade-separating (underground) the line through Park Mesa Heights between 48th and 60th Streets, requested by County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. See section below.

Park Mesa Tunnel

In 2010, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas requested study of a tunnel through Park Mesa Heights on Crenshaw Boulevard between 48th and 59th Streets. Metro staff studied the option and recommended against it. Staff concluded the option offers minimal benefit but high cost. The additional cost for the tunnel would be $219 million, or $167 million with Slauson station removed. Instead that section of the line will be at-grade level.

Leimert Park and Hindry stations

In May 2011, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas asked the Metro Board to vote on a motion requiring construction of both the tunnel and the subway station in Leimert Park Plaza (Crenshaw/Vernon). The Board voted to include an underground station at Leimert Park and approved the station only under the condition that the entire project can be completed within its original budget.

In May 2013, the Metro Board voted 10-1 to officially include an underground station at Leimert Park (Crenshaw/Vernon, at Crenshaw Blvd and 43rd Place), and another at-grade station at Hindry Ave (Florence/Hindry), in the Crenshaw/LAX Line project.

Aviation/96th station

In 2014, Metro approved the planning and scoping of an infill station at 96th and Aviation, which would connect to the proposed automated people-mover system to the airport terminals. The station would be less than half a mile north of the under construction Aviation/Century station, and would serve as Metro Rail's main gateway to the airport itself, while the Aviation/Century station would serve destinations along the busy Century Boulevard corridor. The proposed station would be served by Green Line trains as well as trains along the new Crenshaw/LAX Line.

Project budget

Measure R assumes a project cost of $1.470 billion (2008 dollars). Measure R sales tax revenues will provide up to $1.207 billion (82% of the budgeted cost). The remaining $263 million is expected to come from local funding. The Crenshaw Corridor project did not seek state or federal funding.

The LPA (including Design Options 1, 2 and 4) was estimated to cost $1.306 billion, which was within budget. If Metro were to include the remaining three design options, the cost would rise to $1.766 billion, exceeding the Measure R project cost by nearly $300 million, requiring cost deferments.

In October 2010 the federal government awarded the corridor a $546 million loan, to be paid back by Measure R tax revenue. The loan allowed pre-construction for the project to begin in summer 2012. The final Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor budget was $1.763-billion, as it included most of the design options. Project completion is expected in 2019.

Ultimately, the LPA, with the addition of Design Option 6 and the underground Leimert Park station, is budgeted at $1.766 billion.

Future Extensions

Phase 2 â€" extension north to West Hollywood (Red Line) and (Purple Line)

The original plans for the Crenshaw Corridor project connected Wilshire Blvd to LAX. However, during environmental review, Metro determined that if LRT were selected as the preferred mode, the cost for the entire route would exceed the project budget. In December 2009, the Metro Board selected LRT as the preferred mode: as a result, the part of the corridor north of Expo was deferred until funds become available. This segment can be considered a "Phase 2" extension of the original line.

Any Phase 2 extension would be expected to connect to the Purple Line, the first phase of which is currently under construction as part of the Purple Line Extension project and the Red Line.

In May 2009, Metro released a report on the feasibility of an extension north to Wilshire/Blvd. It first screened two routesâ€"one to Wilshire/La Brea, and another to Wilshire/Crenshaw. Through this screening, staff concluded that Wilshire/La Brea would be more cost-effective and more compatible with land uses and plans along its route. Specifically, the report cited the following advantages of the La Brea route over the Crenshaw route:

• Greater residential and job density,
• Supportive land-uses for a high capacity subway,
• Stronger regional potential to link this corridor northward towards Hollywood in the future,
• Strong community support in the Hancock Park area and
• Fewer geotechnical soil impacts compared to the Hydrogen sulfide soil along Crenshaw Blvd north of Pico Boulevard.

In October 2010, the Metro Board voted to eliminate the Wilshire/Crenshaw station from the Purple Line Subway Extension project, for similar reasons.

The 3.5-mile Wilshire/La Brea route heads north on Crenshaw to Venice, west on Venice to San Vicente, continuing northwest on San Vicente to La Brea, and then north on La Brea to Wilshire. It has three possible stations: Crenshaw/Adams (optional), Pico/San Vicente, and Wilshire/La Brea.

The feasibility report also allowed for two possible branches/extensions along La Brea Ave, Fairfax Ave, La Cienega Blvd or San Vicente Blvd heading north of Wilshire into West Hollywood and/or Hollywood.

In November 2010, Metro staff produced an initial review of the feasibility of studying a new transit corridor to connect the Crenshaw Corridor to West Hollywood and/or Hollywood.

Connection to Phase 1

The final design of "Phase 1" (the original project line south of Exposition Blvd to LAX) would determine how the Phase 2 project could or would connect to Phase 1. The original locally preferred alternative (LPA) for the Crenshaw/LAX Line from the draft environmental impact study (Draft EIS/EIR) specified an at-grade station at the Phase 1 Expo/Crenshaw terminus, with the Leimert Park tunnel ending several blocks south of that, near 39th Street. If Phase 1 was built per the LPA, then Phase 2 would require the building of a new tunnel with a connection near 39th Street. This would require the north end of the Leimert Park tunnel to be outfitted with knockout panels to allow for the possible future extension north.

Metro also studied "Design Option 6" for Phase 1, which would extend the Leimert Park tunnel north to the line's northern terminus at Exposition, with an underground station at Crenshaw/Exposition. This design option was selected so that Phase 2 can connect to Phase 1 directly at the Crenshaw/Exposition station's tunnels. This design option increased the cost of the original Phase 1 project by $236 million.