October 21, 2005 
CONTACT-- 
Rick Jager/Marc Littman
Metro MEDIA RELATIONS
(213) 922-2707
www.metro.net/press/pressroom
e-mail-- mediarelations@metro.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Metro Holds Community Open Houses in November to Receive Comments on Final Eir for Exposition Light Rail Project

Metro will hold three community open houses in November to receive public comments on the recently released Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report (FEIS/FEIR) on the proposed Exposition Light Rail Transit Project, currently in a 45-day public circulation period.

The Exposition Light Rail Transit Project, which would operate from downtown Los Angeles to Venice/Robertson Boulevards in Culver City, will use local funding instead of federal New Starts funding, thereby keeping the project on an accelerated schedule for a June 2010 completion. Cost of the project is $640 million.

The following is a list of three community meetings planned for November:

• Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005 (5-8 p.m.)
  Veterans Memorial Auditorium
  4117 Overland Ave.
  Culver City

• Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005 (5-8 p.m.)
  West Los Angeles Church
  Crystal Room, North Campus
  3045 Crenshaw Blvd.
  Los Angeles

• Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005 (5-8 p.m.)
  Exposition Park
  Muses Room in the Wallis Annenberg Building
  700 State Drive
  Los Angeles

The Exposition Light Rail Line will be approximately 9 miles in length and will share common track and two stations (7th St. /Metro Center and Pico/Chick Hearn) with the Metro Blue Line as it leaves downtown Los Angeles. Just south of downtown the line will proceed west on the Metro-owned right-of-way on Exposition Boulevard, which parallels the heavily congested I-10 Freeway, with a terminus at Venice/Robertson.

Approximately eight new stations will be constructed between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. A future second phase would extend the Exposition line to the City of Santa Monica.

Next steps following the public review period will include certification of the FEIS/FEIR by the Metro Board of Directors in early December and the issuance of a Record of Decision (ROD) for the project by the Federal Transit Administration after the Metro Board action. FTA environmental clearance (as represented by the issuance of the ROD) is needed to enable the Exposition Construction Authority to award a contract for design and construction of the project beginning in early 2006.

Those interested in reviewing the FEIS/FEIR can visit community libraries located along the alignment or access the document on the web at www.metro.net. Comments on the FEIS/FEIR need to be received by November 28, 2005 and can be mailed to Anthony Loui, Mid-City/Exposition Transit Corridor Environmental Project Manger, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), One Gateway Plaza, Mailstop 99/22/5, Los Angeles, Ca 90012 or e-mail to louia@metro.net.

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