Click above to see a larger map.

Metro last night released the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report for the Crenshaw/LAX Line, which is available online.

The report will be considered by the Metro Board of Directors at their Sept. 22 meeting. Approval of the report is necessary before construction of the project can begin.

There is, of course, a wealth of information about the 8.5-mile rail line in the report and I encourage anyone interested in the project to read at least parts of it and to make an official comment on it.

The Crenshaw/LAX Line is scheduled to open by 2018 and is funded in part by Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2008.

Here’s the news release from Metro on the report’s release:

Crenshaw /LAX Transit Corridor Advancing to Next Phase

The Federal Transit Adminstration (FTA) today [Wednesday] gave approval to release the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report (FEIS/R) for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor.

The FEIS/R will be presented to the Metro Board of Directors Sept. 22 for their action. Approval by the Metro Board is necessary to move the project to the construction phase.

“For more than 50 years Los Angeles has waited for a rail line connecting the Crenshaw Corridor to LAX. That sound you hear is this train finally moving out of the station. Today we took one large step forward to putting 7,800 people to work constructing the Crenshaw Line,” Mayor Villaraigosa said.

“We have asked the federal government to change their rules and regulations so that we can award contracts to construct this and other lines to local companies who hire local workers. Creating jobs is important to all of us, but putting Angelenos back to work is my top priority,” said Villaraigosa.

“FTA approval of the environmental document for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor represents a big step forward,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “The Crenshaw/LAX Line represents one of the largest public works projects in South Los Angeles. This $1.76 billion investment will bring much needed jobs, economic development, congestion relief and improve air quality along the corridor. I applaud the FTA for working with Metro staff in ensuring environmental approval.”

A community open house is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 13. The open house will present the same information as the previous community open house held July 19 in Inglewood. The information stations at the open house will be staffed by project experts and will include copies of the FEIS/R, plan set, boards illustrating key elements of the FEIS/R including alignment, stations and maintenance facility locations, and environmental impacts and mitigations

Open House

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Angeles Mesa Presbyterian Church -Scott Hall

3751 W. 54th Street

Los Angeles, CA 90043

Served by Metro lines 40, 108, & 210. Parking is available in the lot a t the corner of 54th Street and Rimpau Blvd.

The FEIS/R is also available for review online at metro.net/Crenshaw and at the public libraries listed below.

Library Address

Memorial Library, 4625 W Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019

Exposition Park Regional Library, 3900 S Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90062

Pio Pico Koreatown Library, 694 S Oxford Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005

Washington Irving Library, 4117 W Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018

Baldwin Hills Library, 2906 S La Brea, Los Angeles, CA 90016

View Park Library, 3854 W 54th St., Los Angeles, CA 90043

Hyde Park-Miriam Matthews Library, 2205 W Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043

Westchester-Loyola Library, 7114 W Manchester Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045

Hawthorne Library, 12700 Grevillea Ave., Hawthorne, CA 90250

Lennox Library. 4359 Lennox Blvd., Lennox, CA 90304

Main Library, 101 W Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90301

Morningside Park Library 3202 W 85th St., Inglewood, CA 90305

Crenshaw-Imperial Library 11141 Crenshaw Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90303

El Segundo Public Library 111 W Mariposa Ave., El Segundo, CA 90245

Los Angeles Central Library 630 W Fifth St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Metro Transportation Library One Gateway Plaza, 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012

The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor is an 8.5-mile light rail line that will extend from the intersection of Exposition and Crenshaw Boulevards to the Metro Green Line. The project will serve the cities of Los Angeles, Inglewood, Hawthorne, and El Segundo and portions of the unincorporated Los Angeles County and is funded by Measure R.