In the past day or so, some nice signs of progress on the Gold Line Foothill Extension which will add 11.5 miles to the Gold Line, stretching it from eastern Pasadena to the Azusa/Glendora border, along with a large rail vehicle maintenance facility in Monrovia.
The two top photos show the canopies installed on the Duarte station, which sits along Duarte Avenue and across the street from the City of Hope. That’s Foothill Extension Construction Authority CEO Habib Balian, left, and Metro Board Member John Fasana in the photo; John is also a member of the Duarte City Council and sits on the Construction Authority’s Board.
The bottom photo shows more work on the bridge over Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia. In an email to project stakeholders, Habib wrote:
Over the last four nights, crews have installed 24, 75-foot long, 83,000 pound girders across the newly built abutments. “Six girders were set in four different areas each night, creating the platform from which crews will build the bridge deck, install utilities, track system, etc.”
The project is about half complete at this point and will include stations in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and two in Azusa. The project is funded by Measure R.
Categories: Policy & Funding, Projects
For the record Metro doesn’t have anything to do with the design and construction of the Foothill portion of the Gold Line. If it were up to Metro we’e probably not have a Gold Line at all (except to East LA). Here are some facts about the Construction Authority that is actually doing the work
The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority (Construction Authority) is an independent transportation planning, design and construction agency created in 1998 by the California State Legislature, SB 1847 (later updated in 2011-AB706 and 2012-AB1600). The agency was created to immediately resume design, contracting and construction of the Los Angeles to Pasadena Metro Gold Line (formerly the Pasadena Blue Line) which had been suspended by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) earlier that same year.
The newly formed Construction Authority completed the Los Angeles to Pasadena segment in just under three years, and the 13.7-mile line opened in 2003 on time and under budget.
The same legislation that created the Construction Authority also dictated its role to plan and construct any “fixed mass transit guide way eastward to Claremont.” The planning for the line was later extended to terminate at Montclair’s Transcenter, a regional transit hub for numerous bus and rail operations serving San Bernardino County and the Inland Empire.
Once construction is complete, the Construction Authority transfers the project to Metro to operate. This relationship is formalized in a Master Cooperative Agreement approved by both agencies’ boards of directors. The current Master Cooperative Agreement, signed in July 2010, manages the relationship for planning and construction of the next two segments of the Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa and Azusa to Montclair.
Project Funding
The Los Angeles to Pasadena segment was funded through Propositions A and C (state and local funding). These funds were already in place when the Construction Authority was established and took over construction of the project in 1998.
The Foothill Extension segments (Pasadena to Azusa & Azusa to Montclair) are estimated to cost $1.6 billion (not including a final extension to LA/Ontario International Airport). The majority of the funding is coming from Los Angeles County’s Measure R, which went into effect in July 2009.
In 2010, the boards of directors for the Construction Authority and Metro approved the Funding and Master Cooperative Agreements between the two agencies. This was a significant milestone for the project – laying out the framework and mechanisms for $810 million to be allocated to the project between 2010 and 2019, and also formalizing the roles and responsibilities of both agencies during design and construction of the project.
The majority of the $810 million will be used to design, build and purchase equipment to operate the Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa and complete planning for the segment from Azusa to Montclair. A significant gap of additional funding will need to be identified to construct the Azusa to Montclair segment. The Ontario Airport Extension is currently unfunded.
Click here to view the final Funding and Master Cooperative Agreement Term Sheets.
Click on the following links to view the latest agency budget and Financial Plan.
This portion is personally significant to me; considering I use 99% of this system at some point through out the year, this will be the one segment, and I’ll try to change that, that I don’t need to use. I see this as a good thing though. The Orange Line opened up an entire branch of L.A. I knew little about, and the east side extension was the first line I didn’t use at least once a month. Metro, you are outgrowing a generation and it’s not a bad thing. On to the next!
This is one of the last pre-“kit of parts” construction projects, yes?
Hi Alex;
Yes, this and the Expo Line Phase 2. Not sure about Crenshaw/LAX Line but I’ll check.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
this is awesome – can’t wait to ride this train to nowhere – next we should build a light rail line from Barstow to Palmdale
Will the gold line cost the same once its extended to the azusa area?
Hi Mayra;
The Metro Board is likely to consider restructuring fares this spring and, as a result, fares for buses and trains could increase from their present cost.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
Wow. I drove through Santa Anita Ave maybe just last week, and it was still a construction war zone. Now there’s an actual bridge-like structure taking shape.