November is full of construction activities along the 8.5-mile Crenshaw/LAX Line and preparation work has begun for excavation on the light-rail project on Crenshaw Boulevard between 59th and 67th streets.

Decking and excavation of the cut-and-cover segment will require a full street closure of Crenshaw Boulevard for approximately 40 days. Metro will provide the closure date in advance. However, Metro Construction Relations is already notifying the community to let business owners, residents and property owners know the upcoming construction work is about to begin.

The Crenshaw/LAX Line will run for 8.5 miles between the Expo Line and the Green Line and include eight new stations serving the Crenshaw, Inglewood and LAX communities. The Crenshaw/LAX Line has a budget of $2.058 billion and is funded mostly by Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2008. The rail line is currently scheduled to to open in 2019.

Crenshaw/Expo Station

These pictures show the work underground on the future Expo/Crenshaw Station.

Excavation for the underground Crenshaw/Expo Station reached a depth of 65 feet and the contractor Walsh/Shea Corridor Contractors (WSCC) began building the base for the concrete (mud-slab) floor and installing the station’s waterproofing. Installation of the substation (TPSS) is now taking place.

WSCC is now working on cross passages, which will be an underground connection between the twin tunnels. They will be located between Coliseum Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The work is being implemented in two phases: 1) vehicle traffic on Crenshaw Boulevard will first be pushed back toward the outside lanes (curb), while concrete barriers (K-rails) are placed in the center of the road to allow for the work to take place; 2) Then traffic will be pushed to the center of the road, while work is completed on the curb lanes. The work that began Nov. 1 will continue 24 hours a day for approximately the next seven weeks.

Two traffic lanes will be open northbound and southbound on Crenshaw Boulevard at all times. Current parking will not be impacted. Left turns are restricted for northbound traffic on Crenshaw Boulevard onto 39^th Street. Pedestrian access will be maintained. Noise from construction activities is being monitored and blankets will be used to mitigate noise.

MLK Station

Excavation continues on the third and final level of bracing, approximately 55 feet in depth. The total expected depth will be 70 feet.

A cross passage will be located between Stocker Street and 43^rd Street/Homeland Drive. In order to implement this work WSCC has installed K-rails on Crenshaw Boulevard just north of the Bright Now Dental driveway. Work is taking place 24/7 for the next 20 days. One northbound and one southbound lane will be maintained on Crenshaw Boulevard in this segment. Five metered parking spaces will be eliminated. Pedestrian access will be maintained, noise will be monitored and driveway access will be coordinated with residents and property owners near the work area.

Vernon Station

Work on the portal where the underground segment will rise to street level near Crenshaw and 48th.

Excavation continues to the second and final level of bracing, located approximately 45 feet below street level. Once this bracing is installed the excavation will continue to the bottom at 60 feet below street level.

Excavation and decking of the southern entrance to the rail tunnel from Vernon Avenue to 48^th Street will continue until Nov. 24 at 6 a.m. Work consists of pile installation, completion of the relocation of the 24-inch water line and decking, from south to north.

Southbound traffic on Crenshaw Boulevard is being detoured onto Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; however local eastbound and westbound traffic is maintained through 43^rd Street/Homeland Drive. West-bound traffic on Vernon Avenue makes a left or right turn onto Leimert Boulevard; 43^rd Place is closed at Crenshaw Boulevard and access to 43^rd Plaza is allowed via 43^rd Street to Degan Boulevard.

Park Mesa Heights

Installing the pilings that will support the walls of the underground segment between 59th and 67th.

The segment from 48^th Street to Slauson Avenue has seen scattered activity, such as potholing (detecting location of utilities) and work on traffic signals. This may change in the next few weeks.

Work on the cut and cover section between 59th and 67th streets has begun on the northern end starting with steel pile installation. The work will proceed on Crenshaw Boulevard between 59^th Street and 67^th Street and includes the installation of 900 steel piles to support the walls. Steel pile installation will occur during day time shifts, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for the next four months.

Left turns from Crenshaw and into 59^th Street are restricted. Noise and vibration is being monitored and driveway access will be coordinated with residents and property owners. Access to emergency vehicles will be maintained.

City of Inglewood

Looking down the alignment near the Inglewood Civic Center.

WSCC continues with rough grading of the at-grade rail track segment along Florence Boulevard between Cedar Avenue and Brynhurst Avenue. The overhead catenary system (OCS) foundations are being installed and fiber optic line is being relocated to allow installation of railroad track and also the pedestrian underpass.

WSCC will continue installing storm drainage in  Inglewood at Market Street, Hindry and later at Hyde Park. Work is expected to conclude by the end of 2015.

La Brea Bridge

The contractor continues building retaining wall structures by backfilling and installing pre manufactured panels and compacting with embankment materials. Bridge and falsework installation continues during November and installation of the superstructure is expected to begin in late December 2015. 

Downtown Inglewood Station

Work for the station has not yet begun, however WSCC is in the process of building guideway walls and bridges with construction of the station scheduled for next year. Concrete crushing operation east of La Brea Avenue will begin in two weeks and should be complete within two weeks.

I-405 Bridge

All steel piles for construction of the bridge over the I-405 freeway are completed. Contractor will be building footings and columns by the end of the year. The bridge structure will span more than 300 feet and will commence early next year.

Manchester Bridge

Steel piles for the support of the bridge over Manchester Boulevard have been completed and the contractor will continue to form abutment walls and columns during the next two months.

Southwest Yard

WSCC continues screening of material (soil) for several of the mechanized stabilized embankments along the alignment.

Century Bridge, Aviation/Century aerial station

The aerial structure over Century Boulevard.

Work to build the falsework and framework for the bridge superstructure at Aviation/Century aerial station continues. Concrete pouring is expected to take place by the end of the year.

104^th Street to 111^th Street

The support of excavation work between 111^th and 104^th streets is completed. Contractor continues with installation of walers, struts and lagging within excavation area. The train will run in a trench along this stretch of track, immediately east of LAX’s southern runways. 

111^th Street Bridge:

The abutments are being constructed for the support of the bridge over the structure on 111^th Street.

Green Line connection

Looking toward future bridge over 111th Street with above the 105 freeway and the Green Line beyond.

Work on the existing Green Line tracks near junction with the future Crenshaw/LAX Line tracks.

The construction process for the Green Line bridge to connect existing tracks to the new Crenshaw/LAX light-rail line continues. All steel piles and foundations have been completed, and the contractor is in the process of installing falsework for the entire bridge spanning Imperial Highway. Full lane closures are expected on Imperial Highway and Aviation Boulevard with the first taking place on November 16 for the eastbound lanes for two weeks, except during the Thanksgiving weekend. The second full street closure on December 12 on the west-bound side will also be for a two week period. Metro Construction Relations will provide in advance the exact date of the closures to the community as they have done in the past.

The 8.5-mile Crenshaw/LAX Line is a $2.058 billion light-rail line that will connect the Green Line and the Expo Line. It will have eight new stations to serve the Crenshaw, Inglewood and LAX communities. It is expected to open in 2019.

For more information on the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project go to metro.net/Crenshaw or join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CrenshawRail and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/crenshawrail or call the project hotline (213) 922-2736.