Lining Up

Mid City/Expo Light Rail Line gets underway

By Joe Florkowski

Major work on a long anticipated light rail line from Los Angeles to Culver City is expected to begin this month.

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A joint venture team comprised of FCI Constructors, Fluor and Parsons will build the Exposition Light Rail Line along an old railroad right-of-way. The area for the track is narrow and is in densely developed area, says Ray Hughes, project manager for FCI Constructors. DMJM Harris will also provide engineering design on the project.

"The laying of the track is the easy part," says Hughes. The more difficult aspects of the job are the grade crossings, station facilities and tying into the existing Blue Line, he adds.

The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority has departed from the typical light rail transit in the Exposition line design, says Tom Wilson, vice president with Parsons and design manager for the joint venture.

The authority wants to develop an attractive transit parkway with landscaping and other elements of urban design, Wilson adds, but making the rail line aesthetically pleasing in such an urban area will be a challenge.

"How do you fit this in and improve a corridor?" says Wilson. "It's a challenge to balance these interests and develop an attractive design."

Planned for more than 10 years, the Mid-City/Exposition Light Rail Transit line will start in downtown Los Angeles, curve near USC and then run on a parallel line with the 10 Freeway. The project is expected to alleviate some of the heavy traffic from the 10 Freeway and the Wilshire Corridor.

Eleven passenger stations are planned as well as park and ride lots.

The first phase of the Expo Line is about 9 mi long and is expected to be completed by February 2010. The cost of the project is anticipated at more than $600 million. When complete, the Expo Line is expected to deliver passengers from Los Angeles to Culver City in less than 30 minutes.

Design on a second phase which would travel to Santa Monica is expected to start this year.

Some construction work on Phase One began in October, but that work mostly involved putting utilities underground. Major projects are expected to start this month, including a grade separation and trench running near USC.

That section, near Flower Street and Exposition Boulevard, is expected to see some of the heaviest construction, says Hughes.

The design for that section is complete and the joint venture is negotiating construction costs with the authority, Wilson adds.

That grade separation and trench is a "critical path" for the project, says Wilson, adding that "we're looking at jumping right into it in June or July and then we'll be in some heavy construction."

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