Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority Completes Light Rail Project
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Rendering of Glendora Station.
Courtesy of Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority
MONROVIA, Calif. - The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority announced it has completed its $1.5 billion, four-station Foothill Gold Line light rail project on budget and on time.
The project, completed by Kiewit-Parsons, a Joint Venture (KPJV), stretched 9.1 miles and took five years to complete. Construction on the project began in July 2020 after months of design work. The $906.5 million contract included the design and construction of four new light rail stations, multi-modal parking facilities, nine miles of relocated freight track, 19 bridges, 21 at-grade street crossings, 10 miles of sound and retaining walls, corridor fencing, and new light rail systems. These systems included track, power, train control, communications, and safety equipment.
The line includes new Metro A Line stations in Pomona, La Verne, San Dimas, and Glendora that are now ready for final testing. The California Public Utilities Commission is responsible for final approvals. As of reporting, Metro has not yet announced an opening date.
The majority of the project’s funding came from LA County’s Measure M half-cent sales tax as well as $100 million of residual funds from the Measure R half-cent sales tax that was not used to complete the Pasadena-Azusa segment. The project also received a $300 million grant through CalSTA’s Transit and Intercity Rail capital Program (TIRCP) in 2018. In 2021, the project also received a grant totaling $650,000 from CalRecycle “to use tire-derived aggregate as part of the project. As a result, approximately 548,200 tires were recycled and utilized to reduce noise in areas along the project corridor where noise impacts were identified and could be reduced through this effort.”
Construction Authority Habib F. Balian said, “The Kiewit-Parsons team did an outstanding job designing and constructing the light rail project, despite significant and unprecedented challenges. . . It is unusual for a large infrastructure project to come in on time and on budget, but KPJV was partners with the Construction Authority from the start and found ways to innovate and keep the project moving through the Covid-19 Pandemic, historic heatwaves and historic rains. I am pleased to say that we not only completed the project on time and on budget – we ended as partners.”
Balian continued, “Reaching substantial completion is an important achievement for the entire team at the Construction Authority, Metro, our contractors and our corridor cities. . . We are proud to be the first light rail project funded by Measure M to have broken ground and to now be completed, and we look forward to handing the project over to Metro as they prepare to put the extension on-line later this year.”
