Though waiting for completion will take patience, San Fernando Valley leaders are buoyed by two major contracts for mass transit lines in the Valley coming up for votes Thursday, Aug. 25, by the L.A. Metro Board of Directors.
The board will hear staff reports on preliminary design and management services for the proposed 9.2-mile East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Line and for upgrading the existing Metro G Line, the Valley’s east-west bus rapid transit system formerly called the Orange Line.
“It’s nice to see some movement,” said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA). “It’s about time.”
Up for consideration is a seven-year contract with Arcadis Mott MacDonald (AMM) for construction management support services to oversee the building of the East Valley light rail line. The total cost of the contract is estimated at about $66 million.
AMM will review, design, support, inspect construction and administer the plans for the Valley’s first-ever light rail line. Arcadis U.S. is a subsidiary of parent company Arcadis N.V., headquartered in the Netherlands.
The proposed line will extend north from the Van Nuys Metro G Line station to the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink Station, running 9.2 miles and including 14 at-grade passenger stations. The first portion of the line would run down the middle of Van Nuys Boulevard.
In a separate action, the board will consider approving a contract with PCS Energy LLC for $1 million to install solar panels on a rail car maintenance facility to be built in Van Nuys. A second phase continues northwest another 2.5 miles along the Metrolink rail line.
Waldman said his organization fought for inclusion of the East Valley light rail line project in Measure M, a one-half cent sales tax for transportation capital projects passed by L.A. County voters with 71.2% of the vote in November 2016.
“This was something we had to fight for, just to get it included in Measure M,” Waldman said. “To get to this point, I know it has been awhile.”
The ambitious project will cost between $2.8 billion and $3.6 billion, according to LA Metro. Some set-aside dollars come from Measure M and from another tax mechanism, Measure R, as well as state and federal grants. The size of the funding gap is not known. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of this year and the line is expected to be operational in June 2028.
The Metro board will consider awarding a contract for pre-construction and for the “design-build” aspects of a project that will make improvements to the existing Metro G bus rapid transit line. That contract is estimated to cost $44 million. Also, Metro would set the pre-construction phase of the project’s budget at about $150 million.
Out of numerous candidates, the Metro staff is recommending the board award the contract to Valley Transit Partners.
The goal is to make improvements that reduce the time a passenger spends on the G Line by allowing the buses to travel up to 15-25 mph faster, by not getting tied up in traffic at major intersections.
Improvements include building grade separations over Van Nuys and Sepulveda boulevards. Building bridges over these major intersections would allow buses to travel freely without stopping at stop lights. The project also would add signal priority technology and more railroad crossing-type gates, to address pedestrian safety and keep cars from crashing into the rapid buses, according to the staff report.
Waldman said these improvements could set the stage for a future conversion of the bus rapid transit line into a light-rail train line. “By building the overpasses, it sets us up in the position where we can build a rail line,” he said.
To see the LA Metro agenda and find the link to the virtual meeting, go to boardagendas.metro.net.