Upgrade work is now complete at Artesia Station and will move to Willow Street Station and Wardlow Station this weekend — and then the next three weekends. Improvements planned for Willow Street and Wardlow are similar to those at Artesia, including new station paint, tile and 
audio/visual enhancements.
Starting this Friday, Jan. 23 after 9 p.m. through Sunday, Jan. 25 close of service, Willow Street and Wardlow Stations will be closed. Bus shuttles will replace rail service between Del Amo and Pacific Coast Highway Station, departing at regular Blue Line service levels. This means southbound Blue Line trains will return north to 7th Street/Metro Center at Del Amo, and Long Beach trains will travel only as far north as PCH.
Closure of Willow Street and Wardlow is part of the Blue Line Upgrades project, a $1.2-billion overhaul including station improvements, track replacement/refurbishment, and even, eventually, new rail cars. Some of the upgrades have already been completed at Anaheim Street, PCH, Artesia and in the Long Beach Loop, and will continue to move north along the Blue Line as 2015 unfolds.
As construction can be a dynamic process, please check back here at The Source, or follow us @metrolosangeles or @metrolaalerts for the latest Blue Line service updates. Finally, a big thank you to all affected customers for their patience as we undertake this essential improvement work for better Blue Line service.
Categories: Service Alerts
Why not just go single tracking ? Just do not stop at those stations that are affected or.being worked on, to avoid all the inconveniences?
Hello Gregorio,
Besides cosmetic improvements like new paint and lights, at many Blue Line stations (like Willow and Wardlow) the upgrade work includes replacing large, pre-fabricated parts such as poles, pieces of the canopy, or structures underneath the platform.
These replacement parts require heavy equipment to lift them into the stations, which in turn requires de-energizing the overhead electrical lines that power the light rail so that we ensure safety of the work crew. This is why we cannot single track as we would for other types of maintenance.
Though we recognize the inconvenience complete de-energization of the work zone causes for our patrons, safety for our workers cannot be compromised.
Thank you,
Lily Allen
Writer, The Source
Thank you!
Does this mean I have to retap at Del Amo Station or Pacific Coast Highway Station to finish my Blue Line Trip, if I boarded a southbound train from a station before Del Amo Station or if I boarded a northbound train from a station before Pacific Coast Highway Station?
Hi Mike;
No, you don’t need to re-tap.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source