New video: building the Gold Line extension to Claremont

by ,

Nice new video from a key Measure M project: extending the Gold Line from its current terminus in Azusa to Claremont — the part of the project funded by Metro. The tracks to Montclair will need to be funded by San Bernardino County, which has committed some of the necessary funds.

The video is by the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, the independent agency created by the state to build the project. Here’s the news release from the Authority:

MONROVIA, Calif. – The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority today released a new and informative video, entitled: “Building the Foothill Gold Line from Glendora to Montclair.” The video is available on the Construction Authority’s website and YouTube channel and provides an overview of the anticipated construction process for building the 12.3-mile, six-station Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Glendora to Montclair in two major construction phases: first relocating/rebuilding the freight and Metrolink systems, and then constructing the Gold Line light rail system. Animations in the video explain how the freight and Metrolink systems and Claremont Metrolink station will be relocated and rebuilt within the rail corridor with minimal disruption to their services and how the Gold Line system will fit within the shared corridor.

The Construction Authority is releasing the video as part of a community information campaign to prepare stakeholders in the corridor cities on what to expect during the construction of the project. Community information meetings are being held in all six corridor cities in July and August. To date, about 250 stakeholders have attended the meetings in San Dimas, Pomona and Montclair; three more meetings are planned. The meetings provide stakeholders an opportunity to view 3D models of the six future stations, learn about the public art planned for each station, learn about changes anticipated during and after construction, and talk one-on-one with Construction Authority staff about the project and upcoming construction. Three more meetings will take place in the cities of Claremont (July 24), La Verne (August 3) and Glendora (August 7). More information on the meetings can be found on the Construction Authority’s website at www.foothillgoldline.org.

The Glendora to Montclair project will break ground on October 21, 2017. The first three years will be spent relocating utilities, conducting pre-construction activities, finalizing engineering plans and hiring the design-build contract team. Major construction is anticipated to begin in 2020 and take about six years to complete.

The project is being funded by Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The portion of the project within Los Angeles County (Glendora to Claremont) is being mostly funded by Metro’s Measure M half-cent sales tax that was approved by voters in November 2016 and went into effect on July 1, 2017, as well as residual Measure R funds from the Pasadena to Azusa segment that was completed under budget. The portion from Claremont to Montclair is being funded by San Bernardino County.

Categories: Projects

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

15 replies ›

  2. Steve,

    Noticed at the 0:10 mark a new Metro Map with more “future” lines than the current “under construction” map in the trains now. Is that something to be publically released soon?

    Thanks!

    Adam

  3. Once again, Metro falls short. Here is an opportunity to connect Metro to th Ontario Airport. Instead Metro decides to save several million dollars now to end the line in Montclair, so they can pay several BILLION dollars later. Now that’s planning!

    • Hi Jim;

      Metro is only funding the line as far as Claremont. The reason: Metro is a Los Angeles County agency and, therefore, funds projects within the county. Montclair and the Ontario Airport are in San Bernardino County and Gold Line extensions there would have to be funded by S.B. County.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source

  4. Yes, 9 years! and still keeping the at grade crossings. Good job Metro… and of course there’s no chance of freight train derailments delaying for hours or days Metro service. No long term vision once again…

  6. To bad one most heavily traveled corridors in Los Angeles County is being ignored. Bus service with 20 minute headways all night long and five minutes plus Rapid Service during the day all of which must deal with total grid lock almost 24/7. And there is no end in sight to solve the grid lock crisis with experts predicting it will only double or triple within ten years. Said grid lock no only inconvenience motorists but also extensive delays in the response time for emergency vehicles. It’s not like Foothill Bl. where one can pull over easily to allow them to pass. There is no place to pull over along most of the corridor. I have observed police vehicles and ambulances utilizing sidewalks to get past traffic.

    But lets not force those in the San Gabriel Valley have to commute in traffic on one of the wide open boulevards or multiple freeways, something the westside is lacking. Governor “Moon Beam” took that away from us during his prior reign.

    • And as someone who has commuted to the San Gabriel Valley in the past, I can tell you that at times, those open boulevards do get congested.

      Also, consider yourself lucky you get 20 min frequency at night. In Vernon, where my employer has relocated me to, there is absolutely no bus service between 10pm-4am, not to mention I actually have to leave the city limits to actually get to a bus stop. So I’m now forced to use my automobile to get to work instead of having the option of using public transit like I did working in the San Gabriel valley thanks to the Gold Line.

  7. It involves much more than just laying track, including relocating existing heavily-used freight/Metrolink tracks and utility relocation.