The art of transit

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photo from the Metro Transportation Library and Archive’s photostream on Flickr

With all the hub-bub last week about the selection of a route for the Westside Subway Extension, I thought this might be a good day to post a photo of the original Red Line construction. Here’s a link to a whole set of construction photos that Metro’s library has posted on their Flickr page.

To submit a photo or photos of something transportation-related, post them to Metro’s Flickr group or email them to sourcemetro@gmail.com. The photos we’ve featured can be seen in these galleries on Flickr. Or click on the ‘art of transit’ below.

Categories: The Art of Transit

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5 replies ›

  1. Dairenn:

    There are two significant features on the Red Line between the Westlake/MacArthur Park and Wilshire/Vermont stations.

    1) Underneath MacArthur Park Lake is the MacArthur Pocket Track structure. Here there is a pocket track between the two main tracks, used for storing disabled trains or for switching trains between tracks. This is where you saw the large fans. http://tinyurl.com/296akz4

    This structure was indeed built using cut-and-cover. http://tinyurl.com/2v6kehb

    2) The rest of the tunnels around Wilshire/Vermont station were constructed using deep-bore tunneling. http://tinyurl.com/24bxuwm

    The transition in configurations between Wilshire/Vermont and Westlake/Macarthur Park takes place between the Wilshire/Commonwealth access shaft (where the tracks are in a vertical configuration) and around Wilshire/Rampart (where the tracks are in a horizontal configuration).

  2. I am particularly fascinated by the grade separation that was built between Wilshire/Vermont and Wilshire/Westlake stations. Rather than the standard 20′ twin-bore tunnels, that entire section is cut-and-cover. You can also see the two HUGE air vent fans in that segment. I am still trying to figure out at what point do the two tubes align to stack vertically along the route between Westlake and Beverly stations…

  4. Steve, why will construction for the Red Line start only in 2013? That sounds like an awfully long time from now. Is it the case that the final EIR will take that long to comlplete or is there a funding issue behind this?

    • Hey Harold —

      The short answer is the planners here still need another year to do the final environmental impact report, which will focus on the route selected by the Board last week. At the same time, the project needs to be entirely designed, which is no small feat, and the financing with the feds needs to be finalized and contractors need to bid and be selected.

      I hope we’ll soon have a post explaining the construction timeline and what it takes to get one of these things built.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source