Media Join Mayor Villaraigosa and Metro Officials on Sneak Peek Ride on Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension to East Los Angeles
- New Line Will Open Sunday, Nov. 15.
Reporters today were given a sneak peek train ride and tour of an underground station on the new Edward R. Roybal Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, which will open with free rides to the public Sunday, Nov. 15.
Joining reporters were Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Ara Najarian, chair of the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina and fellow agency directors Councilman Jose Huizar, John Fasana and Rita Robinson, along with Metro CEO Art Leahy and his staff.
"The long-awaited Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension is going to greatly benefit the community by linking it with schools, hospitals, shopping and business opportunities throughout the county," Najarian said. "It's a wonderful example of the power of our partnership with the workers who built it, with the local people who insisted on it and with our federal legislators who secured more than half of the $898 million needed to build it."
"For the first time in nearly half a century -- since the last trolley ran down 1st Street -- rail will again carry passengers from downtown L.A. to East Los Angeles," Mayor Villaraigosa said. "This caps a 20-year battle to bring rail back to East L.A. -- one of the most transit dependent communities in Los Angeles. But this is not the end of the ride. Thanks to the passage of Measure R, there will be local funding for half a dozen new rail projects in the next decade, which will give Angelenos even greater transit access to jobs and other opportunities throughout the county.”
The highlight of the tour was a stop at Soto Station -- one of two new underground stations. Public art was created specifically for the site by artist Nobuho Nagasawa and includes a hand woven stainless steel bird's nest that nestles a translucent acrylic egg.
“What is a novel ride for a few people today will soon be a daily occurrence for thousands upon thousands of Angelenos, who for the first time in almost 50 years will be able to ride a passenger train from East Los Angeles to Downtown,” said Councilman Huizar.
The opening of the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension will expand Metro Rail to 79 miles. The Eastside Extension will join two existing light-rail lines, the Metro Blue and Green lines, plus Metro subways the Red and Purple lines and the Metro Orange Line dedicated busway. Together these lines crisscross Los Angeles County, linking Long Beach to Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Norwalk, Hollywood, Universal City, North Hollywood and Woodland Hills. And, now under construction, the Exposition light-rail Line will connect L.A.'s Westside with downtown Los Angeles.
"The real heroes today are the men and women who have built the Eastside Extension safely," said Metro CEO Art Leahy. "They've gone more than 4 million construction hours without a single lost-time injury and built a state-of-the-art line that -- along with upcoming projects funded by Measure R and federal stimulus money -- is ushering in a golden age for transit in Los Angeles."
Construction of the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension began in 2004. From end to end the Gold Line between Pasadena and the Eastside will be 19.4 miles. The new portion will have eight stations, two of them underground at Soto and Mariachi Plaza, connecting seamlessly to Union Station and the 12 existing Gold Line stations north of Union Station. Cost of the project is $898 million.
The Edward R. Roybal Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension will open to the public Sunday, Nov. 15, with free rides from one end of the Gold Line to the other -- East Los Angeles to Pasadena. Celebrations are planned along the route.
On Sunday, festivities will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at four stations: East LA Civic Center Station, Mariachi Plaza, the Little Tokyo/Arts District and Union Station. See metro.net for details.