Metro Blue Line passengers will experience travel delays of up to 40 minutes for the next two weekends beginning tonight, September 24, due to construction of the Expo light rail line, which will connect with the Metro Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles. Special bus service begins tonight at 9 p.m.
Metro will provide bus shuttle service between the Washington Station and the 7th St./Metro Center Station. Work will begin at 9 p.m. on Friday and continue until Monday early morning, September 27. Metro expects to have the Metro Blue Line service restored on Monday before rush hours between Washington and 7th St/Metro Center Stations. Should any unforeseen delay occur, the bus shuttle service will continue in operation with buses running between Washington and 7th St./Metro Center stations. The same plan also is schedule for the weekend of October 1, and continuing until the early hours of Monday, October 4.
The Metro Blue stations affected will be San Pedro, Grand Avenue, Pico/Chick Hearn and 7th/Metro Center. Rail service from Washington Station to Long Beach Transit Mall will not be affected. There also will be Metro personnel at Washington and 7th/Metro Center stations to help direct patrons.
The bus shuttle service will operate every 15 to 20 minutes on Friday night. On Saturday and Sunday buses will run every 5 to 10 minutes and after 8 p.m. every 15 to 20 minutes.
The temporary bus stops will be located near the stations. Those passengers coming from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles will have to transfer from the train to the bus at the Washington Station, on Long Beach Avenue just south of Washington Boulevard. The buses will have stops at San Pedro Station on Washington Boulevard just east of San Pedro Street, at Grand Avenue Station on Washington Boulevard east of Olive Avenue, at Pico/ Chick Hearn Station on Pico Boulevard, east of Flower Street and at 7th/Metro Center at the Figueroa Street entrance to the Metro Rail station.
Metro Blue Line customers traveling to Long Beach can board buses at the Hope Street entrance to the 7th St./Metro Center. Buses will make stops at Pico/Chick Hearn station on Pico Boulevard, east of Flower Street, at Grand Avenue Station on Washington Boulevard east of Grand Avenue, at San Pedro Station on Washington Boulevard just east of San Pedro Street, and at Washington Station will be on Washington Boulevard just east of Long Beach Boulevard.
Metro patrons are advised to allow extra time for their trips and check television monitors in train stations or call Metro’s hot line number 213- 922-4999 for the latest information on the construction work and service impacts or go online to www.metro.net. All work is subject to weather delays.
Metro apologizes for this inconvenience and appreciates the public understanding and cooperation during this construction period. For schedule information, contact Metro Customer Relations at (213) 922-6235.
The Expo Line is a new 8.5 mile light rail line under construction from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City. It will share tracks and two stations with the Metro Blue Line along the Flower Street portion of the alignment. For Expo Line Construction information contact (213) 922-3976.
Categories: Service Alerts
Metro might do itself a favor by explaining why this portion of the project is taking so many months to complete. The Expo trains are going to run on the same tracks as the Blue Line from the 7th/Metro station to Washington and Flower, then continue south. The average rider (myself included) would conclude that the major construction task would be to create a switching system so that Blue Line trains head east and Expo Lines head south. This doesn’t sound like the sort of project that should take this many months with multiple weekend closures. What the heck is happening?
The problem with bussing from Washington Station is not that it is occasionally necessary due to construction (which is annoying in itself), but that the Metro personnel on site try to pack people into the busses so uncomfortably that there is standing room only, if that much. If there was an accident with the bus it could even be a dangerous situation. Metro has plenty of busses to help cover construction delays, so why demean customers and force them to be physically uncomfortable, in addition to having delays, all supposedly in the name of construction? Shame on you and your cattle calls, Metro!