October was a momentous month for deciding on funding for rail projects throughout Los Angeles County.
On the positive front, California transportation officials awarded $231 million for Metro’s Southeast Gateway rail project, connecting with the A line south of Downtown Los Angeles and extending 19 miles southeast to Artesia. Metro has set aside $4 billion for the project, which is projected to cost up to $ 9 billion.
Then, on Oct. 31, the Metro board voted to approve $798 million in funding for the final segment of the Foothill Gold Line Extension from Pomona to Montclair.
On the negative side, a decision by the South Bay Council of Governments not to provide an additional $493 million in local matching funds for the Inglewood People Mover project has put that $2.4 billion, 1.6-mile elevated rail project in serious jeopardy.
First funds and final funds
On the funding for Metro’s Southeast Gateway project, the $231 million from this year’s round of intercity rail transportation grants handed out by the California State Transportation Agency adds to the $4 billion in Measure M sales tax dollars that Metro has set aside for the project. That still leaves about $4 billion, most of which would have to come from state and federal funds.
The state grant of $231 million would go toward the first phase of the project, which would go 14.5 miles from the southeast terminus in Artesia to the Slauson station on the Metro A (formerly Blue) Line and include nine new stations. The remaining 4.8-mile stretch to Union Station is still under study.
The entire Metro Southeast Gateway line is forecasted to open in 2035.
On the Foothill Gold Line Extension, the 3-mile stretch that received the $798 million in state funding is part of the overall 12-mile rail line from Glendora to Montclair that was broken off five years ago and set aside due to higher-than-expected bid costs for the project. Construction on the 9-mile, $1.5 billion first phase is almost complete, with that part of the line expected to open in the spring.
The $798 million in funding is being supplemented by $80 million for the small part of the construction that lies in San Bernardino County.
With the funding now in place, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is expected to award a construction contract next spring; that final part of the rail line is expected to open in 2030.
End of the line in Inglewood?
Inglewood officials had long envisioned a 1.6-mile people mover connecting the K Line to the city’s downtown and then east to the glittering new sports and entertainment district that includes SoFi Stadium and the Hollywood Park development, the Intuit Dome and the Forum.
Nearly a year ago, those officials, especially Mayor James Butts, were ecstatic when the federal government committed $1.2 billion for the $2.2 billion project.
But after that moment, the project began to lose steam. Rep. Maxine Waters, the Democrat who represents the Inglewood area, came out against the people mover project. Revised schedules indicated the project would not be ready as promised prior to the opening of the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Executives with both Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s development company and Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer voiced concerns about construction-related traffic congestion, especially for upcoming events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Olympics.
After the South Bay Cities Council of Governments vote to deny the project $493 million in local matching funds, Inglewood officials said in a statement that they would work to develop other alternatives to connect the city’s main activity centers.
