Category Archives: Measure R

Measure J results updated again; yes votes rise to 65.33 percent

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Here are the latest Measure J results, posted a few minutes ago the Los Angeles County Registrar.

According to the Registar, 130,063 ballots were added to the election results today. It appears of those, 112,383 cast a vote in the Measure J election. That brings the estimated total still to be counted to 215,991 ballots, according to the Registrar.

Measure J needs two-thirds voter approval to pass. As we’ve said the last two weeks, it’s possible but unlikely due to two issues: 1) of the remaining votes to be counted, it’s unlikely all of them cast votes for or against Measure J, and; 2) Of the ballots remaining, it’s likely that at least 75 percent of them would need to be ‘yes’ votes for Measure J to pass.

The news release from the Registrar is posted after the jump.

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Go Metro to the East LA Safe Connections Festival

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This Saturday, Nov. 17, take the Gold Line to the East LA Civic Center for the East LA Safe Connections Festival. The free community event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and features safety courses, workshops and live entertainment. East LA residents can also provide input on neighborhood improvements during the community open house.

This is the first of two community events for the Metro Gold Line Eastside Station Access Project, a Measure R project that will provide $9 million worth of improvements. The full press release from Metro is after the jump.

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Measure J unofficial results

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The final unoffiicial results were posted by the Registrar within the past hour. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Measure J is nearly two percentage points shy of the two-thirds threshold needed for passage. It appears about 889,000 fewer people cast a vote in the Measure J election than in the Measure R election in 2008.

J Votes Percent
J – MTA SALES TAX CONTINUANCE – YES 1,367,357 64.72
NO 745,310 35.28

Registration 4,593,621
Precincts Reporting 4,993
Total Precincts 4,993
% Precincts Reporting 100

 

Last Measure J update of the evening

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The results are still trickling in — it’s even slower than usual this time around. Below is the latest from the County Registrar below. Obviously Measure J has an uphill battle at this point to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage.

As I noted earlier this evening, more than three million votes were cast in the Measure R election in 2008. It doesn’t appear there will be anything close to that in the Measure J election.

J – MTA SALES TAX CONTINUANCE – YES 818,403 64.63
NO 447,852 35.37

Registration 4,593,621
Precincts Reporting 2,782
Total Precincts 4,993
% Precincts Reporting 55

Remember, you need to refresh this page to ensure that you have the latest results.

Last Updated: 01:40 11/07/2012

Work starting on other bridges for Gold Line Foothill Extension

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Here’s the good word from the Foothill Extension Construction Authority, the agency building the 11.5-mile light rail line from Pasadena to the Azusa/Glendora border, funded by Measure R:

Throughout the 11.5-mile Pasadena to Azusa construction project now underway, there are a total of 17 existing bridges that must be altered or replaced to accommodate the dual-track light rail system. Although we have focused much attention on the I-210 Gold Line Bridge over the last year, there will be many stories to tell about these other bridges that support our project and require significant work in the coming months and years.

[Above] is a map of the existing structures along the corridor and photos of the first three that FTC crews are preparing for construction. Lead paint removal on the 700-linear-foot San Gabriel River Bridge (top left), built in the early 1900s, is now complete. The bridge will soon be demolished and a new dual-track light rail bridge will be constructed. Two single track bridges within the Azusa shared corridor – at Palm Drive (bottom) and Citrus Avenue (top right) – will be renovated. Two additional single track bridges will be built alongside the existing bridge in these two locations to support two light rail tracks and one freight track.

Also, here’s the latest video update on the construction of the bridge for the Foothill Extension over the eastbound lanes of the 210 freeway:

All structural work complete for I-210 bridge for Gold Line Foothill Extension!

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Here's the news release issued today by the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, which is building the 11.5-mile line from eastern Pasadena to the Azusa/Glendora border:

MONROVIA, Calif. – After more than one year of intense activity, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority (Construction Authority) announced today that all structural work has been completed on the I-210 Gold Line Bridge. This announcement follows the recent completion of post-tensioning activities (internal strengthening of the structure through tensioning of supportive steel bands) and grouting of all internal ducts – the last steps in the process to complete the structural elements of the 584-linear foot, $18.6 million rail bridge.

“The bridge can now stand on its own,” said Construction Authority CEO Habib F. Balian. “This is an important milestone in our progress to complete the bridge, and we commend Skanska USA for their hard work and ability to meet the project deadlines while providing excellent craftsmanship.”

With the structure now fully secure on its own, the temporary support structure will now be removed. The “falsework,” which was installed in a series of nighttime closures in February and March 2012, has supported the bridge while under construction. Up to 20 nighttime closures of the eastbound I-210 Freeway will take place over the next six weeks to safely remove this temporary structure.

“The removal of the falsework is even more challenging than the installation,” said Balian. “When Skanska installed the support structure there was nothing around. Now they need to work around the bridge, as well as over an active freeway.”

To safeguard the traveling public, full closures of the eastbound I-210 Freeway are planned. For each of these consecutive closures, the eastbound I-210 Freeway will be closed between Baldwin and Santa Anita Aves. from Midnight until 5:00 a.m. The first closures will occur starting late Tuesday, Sept. 4, and include closures on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Closures will continue the following week, starting late Sunday, Sept. 9, and continue through early morning Friday, Sept. 14. Additional dates will be announced as they are scheduled, with work expected to continue through mid-October.

“We understand that these closures can be inconvenient and we appreciate the community’s patience,” added Balian. “We encourage motorists and truckers who can use other routes to do so.”

When finished, the bridge will feature columns designed to resemble Native American baskets, in recognition of the first residents of the area – the Gabrieleno/Tongva Tribe. The baskets are under development now, and will be installed after the falsework removal process is complete.

The bridge is on schedule to be completed in December 2012. In addition to the upcoming basket installation, additional work to be completed on the bridge includes: concrete placement for the barrier walls on either side of the deck, building retaining walls on the ingress and egress to the bridge, landscaping and lighting. In December, the bridge will be turned over to the Construction Authority, and future work to add the utilities, track and other light rail features.

To learn more or receive construction alerts and project updates, sign-up at: http://www.foothillextension.org/ or follow the project on Facebook and Twitter. To receive text alerts about freeway closures, text from your cell phone “GOLDLINENEWS” to 888777.

About the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority (Construction Authority)

The Construction Authority is an independent transportation planning and construction agency created in 1999 by the California State Legislature. Its purpose is to extend the Metro Gold Line light rail line from Union Station to Montclair, along the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. The Construction Authority built the initial segment from Union Station to Pasadena and is underway on the Gold Line Foothill Extension. The Foothill Extension is a nearly $1.6 billion extension that will connect Pasadena to Montclair in two construction segments. The first segment, Pasadena to Azusa, is funded by Los Angeles County’s Measure R and currently underway. The 11.5-mile Pasadena to Azusa segment will be completed in late 2015 and includes future stations in the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa. Three design-build contracts, totaling more than $500 million will be overseen by the Construction Authority to complete the Pasadena to Azusa segment, including the $18.6 million I-210 Gold Line Bridge, awarded to Skanska USA in June 2010 and a $486 million contract awarded in July 2011 to Foothill Transit Constructors (FTC). The Azusa to Montclair segment is currently undergoing final environmental review.

For more information, visit: www.foothillextension.org.

 

Recap of today's Metro Board meeting

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The Metro Board approved amendments to the Measure R ordinance and its extension, which included the motion by Director John Fasana to allow for the transfer of funds between the transit capital and highway capital subfunds within the same subregion.

Board members voted 10 - 1 to approve the Fasana amendment and to integrate the amendment into the existing Measure R Extension Ordinance, with Board Chairman Antonovich voting against and Director Mark Ridley-Thomas abstaining. The remaining portions of the item to place the amended Ordinance on the Nov. 6 ballot passed 9 – 3, with directors Antonovich, Knabe and Ridley-Thomas voting no. Mayor Villaraigosa was absent from today’s proceedings.

The amendments will be considered by voters with the Measure R extension language on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Board Chairman Antonovich proposed that members consider items 4 and 5 together within the context of a reevaluation of safety procedures. Here are links to the individual items:

  •  Update on the Expo Line / BLue Line junction, regarding Metro and CPUC investigation of an alignment issue on the junction at Washington Boulevard and Flower Street, where the Blue and Expo Lines merge. The report from the Metro Inspector General is still in progress and should be completed in the fall. 
  • And the Yaroslavsky motion to convene a Metro Blue Line Task Force to examine safety procedures and strategies for the Blue Line operation.

Directors approved the Yaroslavsky motion as amended by Director Mark Ridley-Thomas to establish public information protocols to report accident and service disruption information when incidents occur and regularly report the information to news media and via social media.

A few more points on America Fast Forward

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As many of you know, President Obama last week signed a two-year federal transportation spending bill. In recent decades, Congress has usually approved bills that cover more years but in these hyper-partisan times, and after nine extensions of the bill that expired in 2009, this definitely was a victory.

In addition, the bill contained part of the America Fast Forward program that has been created by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and backed by the Metro Board of Directors for the past couple of years.

America Fast Forward (pdf) originally called for expansion of both a federal bond program called QTIB and a federal loan program called TIFIA. The bond part of the program didn’t get traction in Congress — it involved some serious federal spending — but a hefty increase in TIFIA did make it into the bill. And that’s good news for Metro and transit agencies across the land who want to borrow money to build projects now rather than wait years or decades.

In particular because the bill greatly expanded the federal TIFIA program that provides loans, loan guarantees to local transportation projects around the country at competitive interest rates (today’s interest rate is 2.63 percent for a 35-year loan, by the way). As the TIFIA website puts it, “Each dollar of Federal funds can provide up to $10 in TIFIA credit assistance – and leverage $30 in transportation infrastructure investment.”

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Gallery: Metro Orange Line Extension on opening day

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On board the Orange Line bound for Chatsworth

On board the Orange Line bound for Chatsworth

June 30, 2012: Scenes from opening day of the Metro Orange Line Extension to Chatsworth. Click on images below to view.

Photos by Gary Leonard
Metroliners pass near Parthenia Street between Nordhoff and Roscoe stations.
Roscoe Station
Nordhoff Station
Bikeway at Canoga Station
Tour de Extension
At Canoga Station
All aboard at Chatsworth Station
Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander leads the ribbon-cutting at Chatsworth Station.
United Chambers of Commerce chairman John Parker and Hitesh Patel, who directed the construction of the Orange Line Extension, lead the welcoming ceremony at Canoga Station.
Community welcomes the Orange Line to Chatsworth.
Turnaround at Chatsworth Station
Bikeway at Canoga Station
Metroliner cruises down ramp at Chatsworth
On board the Orange Line bound for Chatsworth