This past weekend, major track relocation and tunneling work on the Gold Line in the Little Tokyo area began for the Regional Connector project. The Gold Line tracks will eventually be moved from the middle of 1st Street to the north side in order to build the new tunnel entrance for the tracks in the middle of the street.
Construction work will continue in the area with a 3-month station closure starting Friday, Dec. 4. In the meantime, trains have resumed service to Little Tokyo/Arts District Station. Please note that the south entrance to the station will remain closed.
And here’s what you need to know for the next station closure:
•From Friday, Dec. 4 starting at 9 p.m. through February 2016: bus shuttles will replace Gold Line train service between Union Station and Pico/Aliso Station. Bus shuttles will operate every six minutes during weekday peak periods and every 10 minutes midday, evening, nights and weekends. The trip between Union Station and Pico/Aliso Station is expected to take about 15 minutes. There will be Metro staff on hand to help customers navigate the shuttle as well as station signage in place.
The shuttle bus will run from Patsaouras Bus Plaza at Union Station to 1st/Judge John Aliso and then to the Pico/Aliso Station.
•If you do not want to deal with the bus shuttles, please consider using the Metro Local Bus 30, which runs between the Gold Line’s Indiana Station in Boyle Heights and downtown Los Angeles.
•During both closures: Gold Line service will operate between Pico/Aliso Station and Atlantic Station in East L.A. every 10 minutes during peak hours. Service between Union Station and Sierra Madre Villa in East Pasadena will continue to run its regular schedule.
•Vehicle traffic will also be impacted by the closures. Specifically:
–One lane will remain open on Alameda Street between Temple Street and 2nd Street.
–Westbound 1st Street will be closed between Alameda Street and Vignes Street from Dec. 4, 2015 through February 2016.
–One lane on eastbound 1st Street will remain open between Alameda Street and Vignes Street.
–Full closures of 1st Street between Central Avenue and Alameda Street will also take place intermittently with detours around the work area.
Here’s the construction notice.
The Regional Connector will include three new underground stations at 1st Street/Central Avenue (which will replace the street level Little Tokyo Station), 2nd Street/Broadway and 2nd Place/Hope Street in downtown Los Angeles. The rail line, expected to be completed in 2020, is projected to attract 17,000 new daily riders and save up to 20 minutes off commuting times by reducing the need to transfer for those traveling on the Blue, Expo and Gold Lines to and through downtown L.A.
The Connector will allow Metro to operate an east-west light rail line between downtown Santa Monica and East Los Angeles and a north-south line between Azusa and Long Beach. Riders can transfer from one line to the other at any of five downtown L.A. stations (Pico, 7th/Metro, 2nd/Hope, 2nd/Broadway and 1st/Central). The Connector will also allow more frequent service light rail service.
Categories: Projects
At Union Station, the second map, above, shows the “pick-up only’ location for the bus shuttle. Where is the “drop-off” point?
Same location pickup and drop off. The bus goes and comes continually.