The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has secured a new allocation of $100 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the third and final section of the Metro Purple Line Extension Project.

Marking another significant step in the path toward attaining a Full Funding Grant Agreement for the transit project, the funding represents the second $100 million allocation from the FTA for Section Three and comes from the FTA Capital Investment Grants Program that invests in critical public transportation projects nationwide.

The Purple Line Extension to Westwood is being built in three sections. The first section has an overall budget of $3.1 billion and includes three new subway stations between Koreatown and Beverly Hills. Metro broke ground on this first section of the project in November 2014 and operations are expected to begin in 2023. The second section of the project, which will extend the line to Beverly Hills and Century City at a cost of $2.5 billion, is also currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2025. The third and final section will extend the subway from Century City to two stations in Westwood. This phase of construction has a budget of $3.6 billion and is expected to bring riders to the final station at the Westwood/VA Hospital by 2027.

“Construction is never easy but Metro is successfully building the Purple Line Extension through one of the most congested urban corridors in the entire country while keeping the hassle-factor pretty low for most people,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Sheila Kuehl. “Because of everyone’s support and patience, we’re on track to get the first leg of the subway open all the way to the front gates of Beverly Hills by 2023.”

Overall, the project is funded with up to $5.2 billion in federal grants and loans and the voter-approved Measure R and Measure M sales taxes approved by L.A. County voters in 2008 and 2016, respectively. Measures R and M are providing critically needed local funding being used to attract the federal contributions and accelerate construction work.

“The Purple Line Extension is integral to L.A.’s transportation future,” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Once complete, riders will be able to take a world-class subway from the Westside to Downtown Los Angeles in just 25 minutes — easing congestion in our most gridlocked neighborhoods and giving people better access to everything Los Angeles has to offer in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics.”

When completed, the Purple Line Extension is expected to generate about 49,300 daily weekday boardings at its seven new stations. Overall, 78,000 new daily trips are forecast to be taken on the Metro Rail system due to the subway expanding ridership.

Source: Various