Progress has been speedy on the construction of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension, the 11.5-mile addition that will extend the Gold Line from its current terminus in eastern Pasadena to Azusa with six new stations.
And now comes the next step: tying the future extension into the existing Gold Line in Pasadena. Initially this work will be done over several phases through this fall and the upcoming winter. Most of the work involves building and/or reworking the overhead wires and infrastructure that delivers electricity to light rail trains.
At this point, most of the work will be done on some Sundays or after 8 p.m. on some weeknights. Impacts on service will be minimal for most of the Gold Line during the work. Most of the impacts will be on service between the Allen and Sierra Madre Villa stations in Pasadena.
All work is subject to weather postponements. The first work is scheduled for Sunday, November 17, when there will be bus shuttles replacing train service between the Allen and Sierra Madre Villa Stations. Otherwise, trains will run on regular intervals between Atlantic and Allen on that day.
We’ll update you frequently on any service impacts. As always, any service impact is a pain but it’s a necessary pain that will make the Gold Line a lot more convenient to use for residents in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, Azusa and western Glendora.
The project is funded by Measure R and is being built by the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, an independent agency that will turn the project over to Metro when it’s complete. Kudos to the Construction Authority for reaching this key milestone; more construction updates can be found on their website. Metro is currently forecasting an early 2016 opening to Azusa.
The Construction Authority is also planning the second phase of the project that would extend the rail line to Montclair. That segment is not funded at this time but is in Metro’s Long Range Transportation Plan.
Categories: Projects, Service Alerts
I would love to go out and write about stories like this. Even if it was just as a freelance contributor, I would still love to blog for The Source about these projects since I closely follow up on what’s going on with each.
With both the Gold line and Expo line extensions about 50% complete, but the railcar contract only just signed, will there be enough railcars to cover both extensions without increasing the overcrowding on the current lines ?
Yay, so we get to subsidize more people for choosing to live far away while people living within the LA core continues to pay the same price or more if there are transfers involved for shorter travels!
Well, why not Ontario Airport? If San Bernardino County can get the funds that is not out of the question. Also for the southern branch of the Gold Line, the Strategic Plan includes both branches (to South El Monte and to Whittier). There is existing UP right of way which goes to La Habra and Downtown Brea, and a 60 freeway light rail could end at the new Industry Stadium. Not saying this is something that should be a high priority but in 40 years, we may need these services.
Rita, build it all the way to Palm Springs and Barstow?
I was on the review advisary committee for the Gold Line to the East side. This line needs to keep going . 210 freeway .pass Monclair…pass East Los Angeles. They should also take it down the 60 freeway. And be on. … take it to parts on know. Like Brea,, Santa Ana. Keep working .
What is not clear is if this is a long term closure of the Sierra Madre station or just for that day with several other one day closures to follow. Please elaborate…
These are short-term closures.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
Less parking at the stations would encourge people to ride the bus to the station. I’m sure Metro will reroute some bus lines to the Azusa/Glendora station.
Foothill Transit also serves the area pretty well. At rush hour, the Foothill Extension should be a lot quicker way to travel between Azusa and Pasadena, for example — at that time of day the 210 is usually a mess and both Foothill and Colorado boulevards have a ton of traffic signals.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
Yup. The terminus is technically in Azusa–it’s literally just a few hundreds of feet from Glendora proper. It’s essentially the station for Glendora residents until Phase 2B is built, if ever.
Every rider in the surrounding areas will be riding from the Azusa terminus… so I wonder if Metro or the Construction Authority has any plan to expand the parking structure in the future.
I kind of doubt <400 spaces will be enough in the long run, especially if Phase 2B won't be built at all or be completed for like another decade. The current terminus, Sierra Madre Villa, has like 900 spaces and it's almost always full on weekdays.
Allen Ave? Why so far from Sierra Madre Villa? I also noticed that on westbound off-ramp of the 210 at Hill, they are doing some construction project….does anyone know what they are doing? Does that have anything to do with the Gold Line?
It is right along the freeway at Hill and Maple.
Allen is the second to last station — so if power needs to be shut down to perform some work at Sierra Madre Villa, Allen becomes the temporary terminus of the line.
I don’t believe the work at Hill/Maple has anything to do with Metro.
As for parking, I agree that will be a popular station and parking will likely fill up — as it does at many transit stations. The public policy question is always: how much parking is appropriate? If you surround a station with a sea of parking it is hard to do anything else urban planning-wise; on the other hand, at some transit stops — particularly in the ‘burbs — there’s no doubt parking helps people with the first mile/last mile problem. The good thing about the Citrus station is that it will also be very walkable for folks going to the colleges and it’s pretty close to some nearby residential neighborhoods and should be walkable.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
it is already jammed, standing room only from Union Station to about South Pasadena and then just pretty full to Sierra Madre Station. How will GoldLine deal with extra load of folks from Azusa/Montclair? More trains? More often? Longer trains?
Looking forward to it and all of your future improvements.
after construction is completed, how many months of testing does it usually take on average before it can open for service? maybe this could be a subject you can cover in your ‘how do they do that?’ series
I see that you mention “western Glendora”. I suggest leaving the “western” reference off altogether. Glendora should be targeted in your marketing campaign as its population is significantly larger than Azusa and has a large number of residents who commute to LA via Metrolink or freeways.
Hi David;
I put Glendora in there because the city boundary with Azusa is just east of the Citrus station and I’m guessing folks from Glendora will be using the line — some residents will be a very short walk, bike ride or drive away.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
I agree with you putting it in there because it is going to be a big draw for all Glendora residents, not just western Glendora.