The Metro board approved a $5.56 billion budget Thursday for the regional transportation agency.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors approved the spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1, and ending June 30, 2016.
About $1.5 billion of the budget will go toward keeping the existing public transit service levels, with no fare increases and major service changes.
A larger slice of the budget — about $2.1 billion — will be spent on building the public transportation system, including construction of the Regional Connector, the Crenshaw/LAX line and the Westside Extension of the Purple Line subway.
Another $1.4 billion will be spent on subsidies for transit operators and the county’s 88 cities and unincorporated areas.
A total of five rail projects will be under construction in the upcoming year, including the Expo Line extension to Santa Monica and the Gold Line Foothill extension to Azusa, expected to open next summer.
The budget also includes planning or engineering work for the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor, the Airport Metro Connector, the South Bay Metro Green Line Extension, the West Santa Ana Branch and the Gold Line Eastside Extension Phase II.
Highway projects in the upcoming year include improvements to I-605, I-5 North, I-710 South and SR-138, as well as the SR 710 North Gap Closure, the High Desert Corridor, Arroyo Verdugo Operational Improvements, the South Bay Ramp and Interchange Operational Improvements, and soundwall projects.
— City News Service