Expo Construction Photos, January 2011

With a partial opening of the first leg of the Expo Line possible later this year, we thought we’d take another look at progress on its construction.  The last time we checked in, it was in the balmy days of August 2010.  As you can imagine, there are quite a few new developments to capture.

Below are five photos that I picked out from my latest survey of the line’s construction.  For more Expo photos to slake your transit thirst, there are a couple of good albums to check out, in particular those at the Expo Light Rail Line’s Facebook page and the Friends 4 Expo website.

Catenary wire goes up over Crenshaw station.

Catenary wire has gone up over the Crenshaw station. The lower of the two wires will deliver power to the light rail vehicle, while the upper wire provides support.

Construction workers rebuild the intersection of Exposition Blvd. and Farmdale Ave. in for the street crossing and station stop.

Construction workers rebuild the intersection of Exposition Blvd. and Farmdale Ave. for the recently approved street crossing and station stop.

The staircase at the La Brea aerial station has been installed.

The staircase at the La Brea aerial station has been installed. The style is evocative of the wavy blue station covers.

Workers install the catenary system over Ballona Creek. The two trucks are equipped with special undercarriages that have flanged wheels allowing them to drive on the tracks as a train would.

Expo line tracks cross over Washington Blvd. and duck behind trees before heading towards the Phase 1 terminus at Venice Blvd. in Culver City.

7 replies

  1. Why on earth are the station platform covers not solid, to keep waiting patrons dry in the rain? It DOES rain in LA, often quite heavily. If they are putting up covers anyway, its absolutely stupid that they are perforated like this! It probably would have been CHEAPER to install solid covers over the platforms, and far more practical. The ones installed on all the expo line routes serve virtually no purpose, except to add to an already ugly station design scheme.

  2. I can’t help but think of how dangerous walking up these stairs, (La Brea aerial), might be for a curious child that may somehow loose their grip from an adult holding their hand. I hope that the sides are covered with some sort of fence.

  3. I would like to suggest that MTA have more photos and updates on the pending lines. Also, the MTA Metrorail should come up with a “ring” or “circle” route that goes around Los Angeles, connecting up the different lines, like exist in other nations, cities and capitals, such as Moscow or Washington DC.

  4. Is nice to see there has been some progress, on the ExpoLine.
    what is the estimated opening date.