Metro unveils plans for Sepulveda Transit Corridor project: What to know
Metro releases new details about Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project
LA Metro unveiled new details about its Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project which would connect the San Fernando Valley with the Westside.
LOS ANGELES - LA Metro recently unveiled plans for its Sepulveda Transit Corridor project, which would connect the San Fernando Valley with the Westside.
What we know:
Metro began planning the project in late 2021 and are currently evaluating five project alternatives that vary in route and transit mode.
They said the goal of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project is to make travel from the Valley to the Westside "fast, reliable, and safe."
"The typical San Fernando Valley commuter spends about 59 hours per year in traffic. In addition, there's over 400,000 weekday trips through this patrial pass and less than 2% of those trips are made by transit," said Anthony Crump, Executive Officer of Community Relations with Metro. "There will be no more guessing whether it will take 25 minutes to get over the hill or maybe an hour and 25 minutes."
Metro looking for ways to ease traffic on the 405
Metro is exploring ways for people to get from the San Fernando Valley to the Westside without driving on the 405 freeway. A monorail and underground train are some of the alternatives.
During a public meeting, Metro officials released details about the project. The new transit system would allow people to take a bus/train from the Van Nuys Metrolink to destinations on the Westside such as UCLA, The Getty Center, the VA Center, downtown Santa Monica, and other places.
They said the train schedule is not impacted by the traffic on the 405.
During a presentation, Metro highlighted that by using the rail system, travel time from Van Nuys Metrolink to Metro E Line would be between 18 and 33 minutes, while by car that exact same route would be between 40 and 80 minutes.
By the numbers:
With a public-private partnership, the estimated costs in 2023 were said to be between $15.4 billion to $24.4 billion. Annual operations and maintenance costs are estimated to be between $131 million to $157 million.
Metro said funding sources are a mixture of state and federal grants, private investments, and existing local measures.
Metro has forecast the opening of this project for 2033 to 2035.
What's next:
Metro's next steps are to focus on cost, risk reduction, management, and construction phasing.
A series of public meetings are scheduled for the last week of May.
For more information on the meetings and to view Metro's full presentation, click here.