(Image provided courtesy of Expo)
Supervisor Kuehl, along with fellow Metro Board Members and CEO Phil Washington, is happy to announce that the final extension of the Expo Line will officially open for riders on May 20th.
This means that Expo will now continue past Culver City, and travel to Palms, West LA and Santa Monica, where it ends just a short walk from the beach.
“I was one of the earliest supporters of Expo, and carried the legislation creating the Exposition Line Authority over 15 years ago, so this is a truly joyful announcement for me. The real winners, of course, are the millions of residents and visitors who can now bypass the traffic, improve our environment and let Metro do the driving for a 46 minute trip between Downtown LA and the Santa Monica Pier!” said Kuehl.
From Metro following the announcement:
This will be the first passenger rail transit service to the far Westside since Pacific Electric streetcars stopping running to Santa Monica in 1953.
The project is the second rail project funded by Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase approved by nearly 68 percent of Los Angeles County voters in 2008. The project completes the 15-mile Expo Line between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica, where the final station will be steps from the beach, the Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica Place, the Third Street Promenade and Tongva Park.
The new rail extension will also serve the Westside Pavilion in West L.A. and the job-heavy tech and media corridors along Olympic Boulevard. The 17th Street/SMC Station is a short walk or bike ride to the popular Santa Monica College and its 34,000 students.
The first phase of the Expo Line between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City opened in 2012 and heavy construction on the second phase began that same year. Train trips between downtown Santa Monica and downtown L.A. will take 46 minutes, giving riders a great alternative to driving the often congested Santa Monica Freeway.
“The progress that Metro has made building transportation infrastructure and providing better transit service in the last few years has been impressive, thanks to Los Angeles County voters,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Mark Ridley-Thomas. “We’ve completed two rail projects, are building three others and we have a massive highway modernization project underway.”
