Metro will close several stretches of the Blue and Green lines as it completes $350 million worth of upgrades and opens the new Crenshaw Line. More than 100,000 daily riders may be inconvenienced.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is rushing "to complete 28 rail and roadway projects by 2028, the year the Olympic Summer Games come to Los Angeles," Steve Scauzillo writes. The new Crenshaw Line (set to open in 2020) is one of them, as well as $350 million in upgrades to the Blue Line, L.A.'s first light rail system.
Unfortunately, that means a series of closures along the Blue and Green lines, starting on January 4 and lasting through September. Scauzillo includes specific closure durations in the article.
While shuttle buses are being deployed to help riders complete their trips while trains aren't running, figures like Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia are worried that "many constituents would simply drive instead of hassling the train/shuttle service. That would cause a loss of train ridership, plus add congestion to local streets and additional smog emissions to the air," Scauzillo writes.
Meanwhile, planned upgrades to the north-south Blue Line include "replacing the overhead power system; new tracks in some segments; adding four crossover tracks to reduce service interruptions and upgrading train control signals."
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