LACMTA recommends two routes for further study for Green Line extension

Image courtesy of LACMTA

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Board of Directors is reviewing the Green Line Extension to Torrance project this month with the release of a Supplemental Alternatives Analysis and an agency staff recommendation to further study two of the four routes under consideration.

The project includes a 4.6-mile extension from Redondo Beach at the Marine Station south to the Torrance Transit Center, which is currently undergoing construction by the city of Torrance, Calif.

The two routes to be carried forward into the project’s formal environmental study include:

• Alternative 1, which would be delivered along the existing rail right-of-way. The alternative would continue the existing aerial section south from the Redondo Beach Station over Manhattan Beach Boulevard before coming to grade at 166th Street with stations at Redondo Beach and Torrance Transit Centers. The cost of this alternative is estimated at $893 million.
• Alternative 3 would leave the LACMTA right-of-way to parallel the 405 freeway, officials said. The alignment would then travel at-grade along Hawthorne Boulevard, before returning to the rail right-of-way near 190th Street. As the staff report notes, this alternative — which was developed based on stakeholder input — serves the commercial areas along Hawthorne Boulevard and provides opportunities for potential transit-oriented communities if local cities choose to update their zoning. The alternative is estimated to cost between $1.003 billion and $1.22 billion, surpassing the amount of available funding.

LACMTA said staff members are asking the board to approve taking the above alignments forward into a comprehensive environmental study.

Following the Measure M spending plan, the project has a groundbreaking date set for 2026, with a completion date range from 2030-2033.

The Measure M spending plan allocates $891 million for the project, which includes $272 million of local and state funding, some of which is coming from the Senate Bill 1 gas tax and vehicle fee package.

The project is also part of the LACMTA Board-approved Twenty-Eight by ’28 Plan to complete 28 major projects in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Officials said additional funding will need to be secured in order to meet that goal.