Working to moisten a Culver City construction site in hot summer weather last week, a truck sprays water where crews are busy building infrastructure for the Expo Line light rail project. (Photo by Gary McCarthy)
Story Created:
Aug 28, 2009 at 11:50 AM PST
Story Updated:
Aug 28, 2009 at 11:50 AM PST
Construction of the Expo Light Rail has almost reached the halfway point, according to a presentation given by Expo officials Aug. 20 at the Culver City Senior Center.
Forty-seven percent of the transit line that will carry riders from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City has been completed and the remaining work is expected to be finished by next summer.
The timeline was part of the latest in the series of progress reports Expo Light
Rail officials have been presenting to the public.
Adrian Gardner, community relations manager with the Expo Design Team, talked about the recent goings-on with Segment C of the light rail, which consists of stops in or near Culver City.
She said the falsework or temporary structures to support the construction of arched bridges is currently under way for both the La Brea and La Cienega aerial stations.
The National Boulevard Bridge, which was rebuilt to accommodate dual tracks and bicycle/pedestrian paths is fully constructed, although electrical vaults and associated conduit systems are awaiting installation.
Construction on a similar bridge over Ballona Creek is in its early stages, Gardner said.
Currently, construction hours in Culver City are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Work is done on intermittent weekends from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Gardner additionally gave an update on the Expo Local Jobs Program and that as of June 30, 2,433 individuals have registered with the program.
Gardner also announced that the Expo Light Rail now officially has a Twitter account where people can follow up on its progress.
“We have joined the 21st century,” she said.
Local resident Ingeborg Prochazka said after the presentation that the public is not being provided with all of the necessary information about the light rail’s construction.
She labeled the presentation as “very weak.”
“[Gardner] did not tell us how far behind we are or how much over budget we are,” she Ingeborg said.
But David Shaaya, a local Realtor, said, “In the long run it’s going to be a huge step. It’s really big and it’s going to put Culver City on the map in terms of location.”
The $862 million light rail project will carry passengers down an 8.6-mile stretch from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City in 30 minutes.
According to the presentation, approximately 20,000 people are expected to ride it by 2020.
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