Tunneling and transportation experts found in a preliminary
report last week that underground construction for a subway beneath
Wilshire Boulevard could be done safely, thanks to improved
tunneling and gas-detecting technology.
This finding is the first step toward building a subway to
relieve traffic congestion along the Wilshire corridor, which has
some of the densest traffic in the nation.
The Red Line subway currently runs from downtown to Western
Avenue, but Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials want to
extend the route to Santa Monica.
Construction of a Red Line extension would not likely happen
within the next 10 years, said UCLA Manager of Transportation
Services Sam Corbett. But MTA officials voiced their confidence at
a recent meeting that the extension would occur, though they were
unsure when, Corbett said.
Corbett added that subway construction along Wilshire would
probably not directly affect construction operations on campus.
A subway station in Westwood would likely attract a good deal of
commercial development, since businesses would want to catch
potential customers waiting for the subway, Corbett said.
But in order to free up federal funding for the extension, Rep.
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., must first lift legislation that prevents
federal funding for the construction of a subway in methane-gas
risk zones. Waxman sponsored the law following a 1986 gas explosion
in the Fairfax area.
Waxman has said he would consider repealing the law if the panel
found that tunneling in the area could be done safely. The MTA is
optimistic the results of the preliminary report will open the door
to the possibility of a subway in the area, said MTA spokesman Rick
Jager.
Even if Waxman lifts the prohibition against federal funding for
tunneling, the MTA must still find ways to fund the extension
because the 1998 passage of Proposition A prevents local sales tax
from being used for the construction of a subway, Jager said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who authored the
bill, supports the building of a subway in the West Los Angeles
area if it is deemed safe, said his spokesman Joel Bellman.
But Yaroslavsky is not likely to change his position on the use
of local sales tax to fund the project because it would be a burden
on the local community, Bellman said.
Without local funding, the MTA would likely have to ask the
state to split costs with the federal government for subway
construction, Bellman said.