L.A. Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa and Supervisor and Metro Board Member Mark Ridley-Thomas along with other officials at this morning's announcement.
Here’s the news release from Metro:
Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa joined Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board member Mark Ridley-Thomas today to announce the beginning of the advanced utility relocation work for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor construction project which is the first contract awarded under Metro’s new Project Labor Agreement, a pact between Metro and the building trades to implement a targeted hiring program that will help provide jobs to economically disadvantaged workers.
“The Crenshaw/LAX light rail line will provide a vital transportation link for this community and our entire city,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa. “By utilizing Metro’s Project Labor Agreement Program for this project we are getting Angelenos back to work and creating job opportunities for those who need them the most.”
Work being done along Crenshaw Boulevard this morning. Photo by Gary Leonard for Metro.
The Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is an agreement negotiated with the Los Angeles/Orange County Building Trades Council and approved by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors that will help facilitate the timely completion of transit and highway projects in Los Angeles County. These projects are largely being funded by Measure R, a local half cent sales tax approved by LA County voters in November 2008. However, many of the projects will also be leveraged with federal monies.
“The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project will create jobs that are badly needed throughout this region and jobs that are welcome news to individuals within our communities,” said LA County Supervisor and Metro Board Member Mark Ridley-Thomas. “Over the course of construction on this vital transportation project, thousands of jobs will be created and thanks to Metro’s Construction Careers Policy and Project Labor Agreement, 40 percent of those jobs created will go to workers who live in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods with 10 percent of those jobs going to low income, chronically unemployed individuals.”
Advanced utility relocation work for the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line will be done at 10 locations along Crenshaw corridor in advance of awarding a design-build contract for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor project. The work will be performed over a twelve month period.
The locations where utility relocation work will be performed include; dry utilities relocations for the Federal Aviation Administration and Los Angeles World Airports crossing Metro’s right-of-way at LAX will take place at Aviation adjacent to the airports south runways between 104th and 111th streets. Storm drains crossing Metro’s right-of-way in Inglewood at La Brea/Ivy and Florence. Sewer line relocations along Crenshaw Blvd. at Victoria/Crenshaw and 67th and Crenshaw and 60th streets. Water line relocations along Crenshaw Blvd. at Slauson and Crenshaw at 48th, 50th, 54th streets and storm drain relocation near Leimert Park at Crenshaw/Leimert and West 48th Street.
In addition to the utility relocations, private utilities are working directly with Metro to relocate facilities at Exposition Blvd, Mark Luther King Blvd, La Brea and Manchester Avenue. Facilities include water lines, gas lines, AT&T and overhead power lines. Work will be conducted through spring 2013.
The $8.6-million utility relocation contract is being performed by Metro Builders & Engineers Group under contract to Metro. During construction Metro will make every effort to mitigate impacts to the community and traffic movement along the corridor.
The 8.5-mile light rail project will run between the Expo Line on Exposition Boulevard and the Metro Green Line. It will serve the Crenshaw Corridor, Inglewood, Westchester, and LAX area with six stations, a maintenance facility, park and ride lots, traction power substations and the acquisition of rail vehicles and maintenance equipment.
The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project will offer an alternative transportation option to congested roadways and provide significant environmental benefits, economic development and employment opportunities throughout Los Angeles County.
For additional information visit www.metro.net/crenshaw or call the project phone number (213) 922-2736.
Categories: Projects
@Steve & @Lives near LAX:
If you are having problems with potholes, grafitti, street lights out, traffic signals not working, etc. in the City of LA, call 311. This is the “one call to City Hall” number. And if you are calling on your cell phone (or some place outside of LA) use: 213 473-3231, that is the real phone number that 311 shunts to from land lines.
BTW, it is encouraging to see work ‘construction’ starting on a -new- line, no matter how preliminary.
I think the roads near LAX needs massive fixing first. Aviation Blvd is so full of potholes that it’s a road hazard for both bicyclists and car drivers. Adding the bicycle lane on Aviation between Century to Imperial was good, but bicyclists don’t want chips of asphalt flying into their faces as cars go by them.
Is there a budget in LA to repair Aviation Blvd?
Hi Lives near LAX;
Good question. Metro doesn’t handle street repair in the city of Los Angeles (we’re a county agency) so it’s probably best to ask Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents that area. Here’s the email form on his website: http://cd11.lacity.org/Contact/Email/index.htm
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
steve,
i think comments like that only disillusion the common voter. the source is a tax funded comments board, but then where’s the impartiallity if the moderator themselves are metro employees?
unfortunately, the source has failed to provide the answers to the questions and concerns of the “few” and the questions they ask are really good which casts serious doubt to metro’s efficiencies.
if there is a non-tax approach to building and operating mass transit, they are worth listening to. such ideas are way better than proposals to just extend measure r indefinitely.
Hi Concerned Taxpayer;
Comments are moderated in order to keep inappropriate material off the comment board and, to a lesser extent, to keep the conversation on track, keep it civil and prevent glaring factual errors from being presented as fact. As I’ve written many times before, the vast majority of comments are approved and you don’t have to look too far on this blog to find criticism of your government. I’m not impartial. I work for the government. I don’t try to hide that, but I don’t use it as an excuse to trash comments I don’t like or comments from the same people saying the same thing over and over and over again.
I do try to answer many of the questions here — in particular the specific ones. I can’t answer every question, in particular the more conceptual ones. If you really believe that the private sector should run transit in the U.S., then I suggest you have a lot of people to persuade and that campaign is going to require a lot more effort than sitting in front of your computer and leaving comments on The Source.
Of course, the Internet is a big place and there are other places you can discuss transportation – you could even set up your own comments board. Or you can continue to contribute to the conversation here. Your comments are as welcome as anyone else’s but I do ask everyone to please follow our policy, which is designed to keep the comments board interesting and not to stifle interesting ideas.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
Nice to see work on another transit line starting. I enjoyed seeing some work on the Expo phase 2 recently. I also have a question.
While passing on the green line by aviation at ground level was a stack of what looked like rails, are these for this project?
Hi Paul;
Not sure what those rails are for but they’re not for Crenshaw. Metro still must award and approve a contract to a firm to build the actual project.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
“go troll somewhere else.”
I pay taxes and this is a board that is funded with taxpayer dollars. Freedom of speech is a First Amendment right, therefore I have the right to say what I feel about this idea.
If you don’t agree, you can start a campaign to blotch out the First Amendment from our Constitution. Let’s see how that goes.
It would be great if — as per our comment policy — readers would comment about the project that this post is about, the Crenshaw/LAX Line. Otherwise, I suspect this comment board will only be read by the same few people who leave the same general comment over and over again.
Also, a reminder that this is a moderated comment board. It’s not an exercise in saying anything you feel like about anything.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
Having my tax dollars pay for an otherwise unemployed resident of my city to build light rail to my airport is ok with me.
Metro and the city should take this chance to underground any and all overhead lines in conjunction with this construction. this should be done with all sewer replacements and any street digging.
@Frank M,
yes, our hard earned tax dollars are going to pay for transportation in LA County. Whats next? Our hard earned tax dollars are going to go towards education? Or the military? Whats next? Or better yet, why can’t people just drive cars and do the libertarian option and be an individual on the freeway. Oh wait, those are funded through tax dollars too.
go troll somewhere else.
Since Metro makes no profit to pay for the workers of these new jobs, this means the creation of more jobs paid for courtesy from your hard earned taxpayer dollars.