L.A. Metro Board approves route for initial segment for West Santa Ana Branch Project and Union Station as northern terminus

Los Angeles Union Station was approved to be the northern terminus of the West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor Project at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (L.A. Metro) board of directors meeting. 

The 14.8-mile Slauson/A Line to Pioneer route was also approved as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the project’s initial segment between Artesia and Downtown Los Angeles.  

Spanning 19.3 miles, the new light-rail project will include 12 stations connecting the Gateway Cities of Artesia, Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, Vernon, the unincorporated Florence-Graham community and Downtown Los Angeles, with 1.4 million residents living near the route. The project will provide relief to the limited mobility and transit options currently available to these communities. 

“The West Santa Ana Branch is not just a crucial project to deliver light rail to historically underserved areas of L.A. County — it’s an opportunity to stitch our region together and connect people to opportunity,” said L.A. Metro Board Director and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Through Measure M and collaboration across the county, we are improving congestion and air quality, and bringing high-quality public transportation to every corner of our region.” 

Together, the Gateway Cities have populations and employment densities that are five times higher than the L.A. County average. In addition, the new light-rail line will provide transfers to the Metro C Line (Green), Metro A Line (Blue) and the L.A. County regional transit network. 

L.A. Metro staff will proceed with completing a Final EIS/R by spring 2023 for the initial segment, allowing for a groundbreaking in 2023 and the delivery of this 14.8-mile segment between 2033-35. At the same time, L.A. Metro staff will identify a cost-effective route in lieu of the aerial and underground route previously evaluated for the 4.5-mile Slauson/A Line (Blue) to Union Station segment. 

“The action taken by our board really represents a renewed commitment on the importance this project brings to address equity, regional mobility, environmental and economic benefits for all the Gateway Cities,” said L.A. Metro CEO Stephanie N. Wiggins. “The project will greatly improve access to opportunities and improve transit service to low-income riders and communities of color who have suffered for too long with higher-than-average rates of morbidity and mortality due to their exposure to air pollution and a lack of transit alternatives.” 

The project is estimated to reduce end-to-end transit travel time to 40 minutes in the corridor. The project is funded by Measure R and M voter-approved transportation sales taxes as well $300 million in state funding. With these board actions, L.A. Metro can also aggressively pursue more federal funding for the project. 

The board also approved L.A. Metro’s recommendation to build a maintenance and storage facility for its light-rail vehicles in Bellflower. The approved site has the fewest community and economic impacts of the options that L.A. Metro studied. 

“This new light-rail line serving Southeast Los Angeles (SELA), a region I had the honor of representing for seven years, marks a milestone in our initiative to make Metro B.E.T.T.E.R. and Bring Equitable Transportation to Every Resident,” said L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Hilda L. Solis. “A transit-dependent community, SELA overwhelmingly supported Measure M back in 2016. To that end, I’m thrilled that that the Locally Preferred Alternative moving forward is in-line with the needs of residents who frequent our public transit system every day.”