Despite one city’s opposition, L.A. Metro moves forward with C Line extension

Written by RT&S Staff
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Officials hope to have the C Line extension complete by the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

L.A. Metro has now entered the final planning phase for a $1 billion light rail line extension from Redondo Beach to Torrance.

The agency will be holding a pair of virtual meetings before March so it can hear any concerns from the public.

Titled the South Bay’s largest regional transit project in history, the extension of the C Line, also known as the Green Line, will be a 4.5-mile rail link that will connect the area to the southern California transit network.

However, the Lawndale community is not on board, which has forced officials to consider removing the line from the neighborhood altogether. Two route options are on the east and west side of Lawndale, but Metro was persuaded to eliminate a station at Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue. The Lawndale opposition also means the extension may not use an old railroad right-of-way adjacent to Redondo Beach’s new $11.5 million transit center. If that is the case a station will be built elsewhere.

If the extension has to be built on the east side of Lawndale, a 0.6-mile elevated section along the I-405 freeway will need to be constructed. However, residents say that option will disturb neighborhoods between 162nd and 166th streets and Hawthorne Boulevard, which is the city’s main business district.

The goal is to have the project complete by the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, but for that to happen construction will have to be accelerated, and some on the South Bay Cities Council of Governments say the project must receive more voter-approved funding.

A $32.5 million environmental analysis is expected to be submitted by March 2022.

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