Two San Fernando Valley mass transit projects were awarded a combined total of $110 million from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday, Aug. 25.
By unanimous votes of the LACMTA (LA Metro) Board of Directors, about $66 million was approved to hire a construction management firm to oversee the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Line (ESFVLR) and about $44 million will go toward improvements to the existing Metro G Bus Rapid Transit Line, commonly known as the Orange Line.
The board directed its CEO Stephanie Wiggins to ink 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 proposed light rail 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.
The ESFVLR line would be the first light-rail system in the San Fernando Valley and is predicted to carry 35,000 weekday passengers. The ambitious project will cost between $2.8 billion and $3.6 billion, according to LA Metro. Construction is scheduled to start at the end of this year and the line is expected to be operational in June 2028.
The board also awarded Valley Transit Partners a $44 million contract for the first phase of pre-construction services, known as “design-build,” for the Metro G Line Bus Rapid Transit Improvements Project. LA Metro set the pre-construction phase of the project’s budget at about $150 million.
This contract funds work on improvements to the bus rapid transit line, which runs east-west between the Chatsworth and North Hollywood stations. The 18-mile line uses buses, now being converted to electric-battery, to take passengers on exclusive, dedicated lanes.
However, at major intersections, the buses would often get caught in traffic and wait for traffic signals to turn green. The proposed improvements would reduce the time a passenger spends on a G Line bus by allowing buses to travel up to 15-25 mph faster by avoiding traffic at major intersections.
Planned improvements include building grade separations over Van Nuys and Sepulveda boulevards. Building bridges over these major intersections would allow buses to travel freely. The project improvements include adding signal priority technology and more railroad crossing-type gates, to address pedestrian safety issues and keep cars from crashing into buses.
The board also authorized using eminent domain to force four property owners to sell their parcels to Metro, to make room for some of the G Line improvements.
An attorney for the owner of one of the four parcels, a tire shop/distribution/retail outlet on Saticoy Street, between Canoga and Deering avenues, said taking of a piece of his client’s land will hurt his business. He asked Metro to instead use an adjacent right-of-way to locate its safety gates.
“He has a successful business, a major warehouse and distribution facility. You will be taking away many of his parking spaces and blocking his access off of Saticoy. It will be just a mess,” said the owner’s attorney, John Peterson.
Metro’s staff attorney, Craig Justesen, said an authorization to go to court over the easement rights would not preclude Metro from continuing talks with the owner and his attorney. However, not moving ahead with the eminent domain procedure could delay the project, said Metro staff.
Metro Board Chair Ara Najarian directed the staff to continue negotiations, including finding ways to relocate the gates on Saticoy. The motion to approve the authorization to buy the four pieces of land for the project was approved by a 10-0 vote.