The exploratory drilling phase of the citywide project to create a subway extension beneath West Los Angeles has been completed, and the whole subway extension could be finished by 2019, according to UCLA transportation officials.
When built, the subway is expected to cover Westwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, and will link UCLA to these surrounding areas.
L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the completion of the exploratory drilling phase of the Westside Subway Expansion on Aug. 20 at a meeting of local elected officials that included UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, according to a UCLA statement.
The next phase of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2010, calls for soil sample analysis to be conducted in areas where subway routes are being considered, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority statement. After that, Metro officials will begin mapping out a specific route for the subway, including station points, before beginning construction.
Renee Fortier, the director of UCLA Transportation, said the subway will be of great benefit to the UCLA community.
“We will open the door to even more people coming to UCLA for our medical system, cultural events and athletic events. We will reduce their travel time and provide much better access, along with greatly reducing West side traffic,” Fortier said.
According to current plans, a subway station will be built either on or very near the UCLA campus, she added.
The subway expansion is intended to greatly reduce travel time, pollution and congestion in the Westwood area, said David Karwaski, the UCLA planning and policy manager for transportation.
“The predicted travel time from UCLA to downtown with the subway is 23 minutes, whereas today it can take over an hour,” Karwaski added.
Yuri Fitzgibbons, a fourth-year communications student, said she supports the construction of a subway system near UCLA.
“I think it’s a great idea. Public transportation in L.A. is lacking and it would be great if students had more options,” Fitzgibbons said.
The Metro planning committee is examining a number of proposed subway routes and their relative costs.
A subway extension to Westwood is estimated to cost $4.1 billion. By contrast, it will cost about $6.1 billion to extend a subway to Santa Monica and $9 billion to build to West Hollywood, according to the Metro statement.
Funding to begin the project will come from Measure R, a half cent added sales tax in Los Angeles County that was passed in the November 2008 election and is expected to generate $40 billion over the next 30 years.
However, developers at Metro do not yet have the money to complete the project and are seeking additional funding from the federal government and from public-private partnerships, according to the statement.