Metro has received a new allocation of $100 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the third and final section of the Metro Purple Line Extension Project to Westwood/VA Hospital.

The funding represents the second $100 million allocation from the FTA for Section Three since November 2018 and comes from the FTA’s Fiscal Year 2019 Capital Investment Grants Program that invests in critical public transportation projects nationwide. It will go toward Metro’s existing Section Three tunneling contract, its stations, track and systems contract as well as advanced utility relocation work.

Metro staff has worked closely with the FTA to process ongoing federal requirements to fund this final portion of the project. We have requested $1.3 billion in funding through the FTA’s New Starts Program. The total cost for this section of the project is $3.6 billion. We anticipate a grant agreement will be forthcoming in the months ahead.

Two earlier subway extension sections have already received federal funding awards and are now under active construction.

Section Three of the Purple Line Extension will span 2.56 miles between Century City and Westwood/VA Hospital and will include two new subway stations. Section Three has already begun some construction activities, which includes utility relocation work and preconstruction activities. Both the second and third project sections are being built by Tutor Perini O&G, a Joint Venture. The entire nine-mile line is on track to open by 2027, in time for the 2028 L.A. Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

FTA has advanced funding for 25 new projects under the Capital Investments Grants Program since January 2017 totaling about $7.63 billion. Metro was one of only three city transit projects named by the FTA for this funding round.