California Construction News staff writer
The Metro K Line — previously the Crenshaw/LAX Project — is now open and will eventually connect with the LAX People Mover and the Metro C Line (Green).
It’s the first project to be completed under Metro’s project labor agreement and construction careers policy, and exceeded all workforce goals, including 60% of hours worked by targeted workers from economically disadvantaged areas.
The $2.1 billion project was largely funded by local tax dollars, predominantly Metro’s Measure R transportation sales tax measure approved by voters in 2008, as well as a key federal funding loan.
“Today, we’re fulfilling a dream that started with Mayor Tom Bradley and was carried on for decades by countless community leaders and elected officials – world-class public transportation in South Los Angeles,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“Angelenos generations from now will recognize the opening of this line as a moment when we opened doors of opportunity to communities that had been ignored for too long, and put our commitment to making Los Angeles a more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable city on the fast track.”
This is the largest transportation investment in the South Los Angeles area since the construction of the Metro A Line (Blue) and C Line (Green) more than 25 years ago, with seven new stations now open: Crenshaw, Leimert Park, Hyde Park, Fairview Heights, Inglewood, and Westchester.
An eighth station will be built at Aviation and Century by 2023, and a ninth will open near LAX in 2024, when Metro completes a new station to connect the K Line with Los Angeles World Airport’s Automated People Mover, which will provide a direct connection to the LAX terminals.
“The K Line will bring a new era of equitable transportation investment that connects the Crenshaw Corridor and Inglewood residents to convenient, fast, reliable and low-cost rail transit,” said Metro Board First Vice Chair Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker. “What’s more, it will provide a new gateway to jobs, education and healthcare for our communities that need it the most.”
Metro’s construction authority partner, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, is also building an extension of the L Line (Gold) further east in the San Gabriel Valley. Numerous other Metro Rail and Bus projects are also in various stages of development.
