Metro Blue Line Renovation Hits Halfway Mark

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Metro Blue Line Renovation Hits Halfway Mark
On Track: Renovation work on the southern half of Metro’s Blue Line wrapped up last month.

Renovation of the 29-year-old Metro Blue Line from downtown Los Angeles to downtown Long Beach is now halfway complete.

On May 29, work wrapped on the southern portion of the 22-mile line, which runs from Long Beach to the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station. This week, renovation begins on the northern half of the line, from Willowbrook to Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles.

The $240 million project started in earnest in January and includes improvements to the signaling, tracks and overhead wires that deliver electricity to the trains. Four new crossover tracks are being added in an effort to reduce service interruptions.

Mass. Electric Construction Co. of Waltham, Mass., is the main contractor for signal rehabilitation, and New York-based RailWorks Corp., is providing the railway upgrades. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is providing funding and oversight.

While work was being done on the southern half of the rail line, Blue Line passengers were taken by shuttle bus around the work zones. The same strategy will be applied starting this week for passengers on the northern half of the rail line. The project is set to finish in October.

Also closing in on the halfway mark is the centerpiece of the Blue Line modernization, a $109 million rebuild of the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station, where the Blue and Green lines intersect. Work began in August, with completion set for summer of 2020.

Westlake-based Icon West Inc. is the general contractor on the Willowbrook station project. Edmonton, Alberta-based Stantec Inc. is the chief design/architect firm. Subcontractors include Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. of Raleigh, N.C., for transit planning and civil engineering; Miyamoto International Inc. of West Sacramento and Koreatown-based PacRim Engineering for structural engineering; PBS Engineers Inc. of Glendora for mechanical, plumbing and electrical engineering; and Pasadena-based W2 Design Inc. for utilities and civil engineering.

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