Budget proposal includes funds for LACMTA Purple Line, SMART rail extension
Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
President Obama's proposed FY16 Budget includes $100 million for the second section of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Purple Line Extension Project. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, business, environmental, labor and community leaders applauded the inclusion of these funds as an important step in keeping LACMTA's planned subway construction toward West Los Angeles on track.
The mayor also praised the president for including $230 million for LACMTA’s two existing New Starts projects – the Regional Connector and the first section of the Purple Line Extension ($115 million each).
The proposed funding within the president’s U.S. Department of Transportation budget – if approved by Congress later this year – can be combined with L.A. County’s voter-approved Measure R sales tax revenue and could fund construction of Section 2, a 2.6-mile extension of the subway through Beverly Hills to Century City scheduled to open in 2026. LACMTA has already begun construction of Section 1 between Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/La Cienega. A third and final subway section is planned to reach the Westwood/VA Hospital in 2035. The second section of the project would build two new underground stations – in downtown Beverly Hills near Wilshire/Rodeo and in Century City at Constellation/Avenue of the Stars.
The subway extension will provide a high-capacity, high-speed, dependable transit alternative for those traveling to and from the Westside – L.A.’s “second downtown.” More than 300,000 people travel into the Westside every day for work from areas throughout the county and beyond.
Construction for Section 1 of the project began late last year and pre-construction activities for the second section of the subway are now underway. Once built, Purple Line Extension riders will be able to travel from Downtown Los Angeles to the Westwood/UCLA station in 25 minutes. More than 78,000 daily project trips are projected to use the seven new stations.
The president’s FY16 budget also includes $20 million to complete construction of Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit’s (SMART) rail extension to Larkspur. If approved, the funding will come to the region as part of the highly-competitive nationwide Federal Transit Administration Small Starts grant program.
Previously, Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) had recommended $11 million towards the $40-million Downtown San Rafael to Larkspur extension project. Based on that recommendation, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) increased the amount to $20 million and urged the secretary of Transportation to fund the remaining amount and ranked SMART’s project as one of the Bay Area’s top priority for Federal funding. Upon approval of the president’s budget by the U.S. Congress, the Larkspur extension is now fully funded.
“This Small Starts grant means that SMART will become a truly regional mode of transportation connecting the ferry in Marin to the airport in Sonoma,” said Judy Arnold, chair of SMART.
