LACMTA holds ceremony to kick off Expo Line Phase 2 construction
Written by jrood
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Sept. 12 by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Santa Monica, Calif., for the second phase of the Expo Line light-rail project. The 6.6-mile second phase, with a budget of about $1.5 billion, will connect Culver City and Santa Monica, Calif., mostly via the old right-of-way that runs along Exposition Boulevard. The budget includes several significant bridges for the train over busy streets, including Sepulveda Boulevard, as well as a maintenance yard and new rail cars. The Source, a publication of the LACMTA, stated that the first phase of the Expo Line from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City is nearing completion and train and track testing has been underway since spring. No formal date for the opening of that line has been set. The second phase of the Expo Line between downtown Los Angeles and downtown Santa Monica, Calif., is expected to open in 2015. The second phase of the Expo Line is funded mostly by the Measure R half-cent sales tax increase approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2008.
