Section 1 budget may be increased by $200M
By Sam Catanzaro
The Metro Purple Line Extension–which will connect Downtown Los Angeles to Westwood and Brentwood–may be getting an additional $200 million in funding.
On August 26, Metro announced it is requesting approval to amend the Purple Line Extension Section 1 project budget from $2.77 billion to $2.97 billion, an overall seven percent increase to the budget. According to Metro, the extra $200 million is needed to fund mitigations taken since construction began in 2015.
Section 1of the project–now nearly two-thirds complete–will run for nearly four miles between Wilshire/Western and the new Wilshire/La Cienega Station. According to Metro, this is an area with some of the most complex underground conditions. These include issues with water containment and gas and tar sands — particularly in the areas surrounding the La Brea Tar Pits.
Overall Purple Line extension will cost around $10 billion. The project aims to connect commuters from the Westside to Downtown LA by 2027- just in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics hosted by Los Angeles. Following the completion of the Purple Line, residents are expected to be able to travel from Century City to Downtown Los Angeles in only 25 minutes.
