Metro’s Board of Directors is expected Thursday to select a route for the northern extension of its K Line light rail project, which aims to connect the South Bay to Hollywood.
The extension project from Expo/Crenshaw to the Hollywood area is expected to boost the number of riders on the light rail by at least 100,000 per day. Board members are expected to consider three possible routes, and ultimately choose a preferred alignment to advance.
The board’s decision is part of the planning process initiated under an early project delivery framework for future planning, funding and coordination purposes. It is not a final approval on the project.
Staff have estimated the extension project to cost between $11 billion to $15 billion.
Metro staff have recommended board members to approve the San Vicente-Fairfax alignment, a 9.7-mile route that would add nine stations and connect to stops such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, West Hollywood, Pacific Design Center and the Grove. A final 10th station would be created at the Hollywood Bowl.
This alignment would also connect the route to four other major rail lines — including the under-construction expanded D (Purple) Line — and several bus lines.
West Hollywood has endorsed this route as well, offering to fund 25% of capital costs through a so-called Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District.
Through this effort, West Hollywood would provide approximately $2.2 billion to support this alignment.
“What that means is they will capture the value of the property that will experience this transformational change, and rather than putting into their coffers, as a city they’re going to invest it back into this infrastructure,” Horvath said, a former mayor and West Hollywood City Council member. “It’s not a new tax residents.”
She argued this method would accelerate the project toward completion sooner instead of what could be a target opening between 2047 and 2049.
A second proposed alignment, Fairfax, would be a 7.9-mile route with seven stations, while the third option, La Brea, would be a 6.2-mile route with six stations.
The project has been opposed by some residents of the Mid-City historic residential neighborhoods, including Lafayette Square and Wellington Square. They’ve expressed concerns about noise and vibration due to future tunnel construction activities, a lack of engagement, safety of tunnels below holder homes and impacts to property values and businesses.
About 18 months ago, at the request of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who are both Metro directors, the agency conducted more studies around impacts to homes in these areas, costing an additional $2.3 million.
The analysis found that modern tunneling techniques are safe with pre-construction studies, use of advanced tunnel boring machines, mitigations and monitoring.
Tunnels are proposed at depths of 40 to 120 feet below the surface in the project area, and 80 to 120 feet below Mid-City — depths in which noise and vibration are estimated to be below the threshold of damage to structures and human perception, according to Metro.
Agency officials said similar tunneling has been completed in comparable ground conditions and at similar depths without damage to buildings. Staff added that tunnel easements would not affect properties, historic status, zoning, underground mineral rights or property values.