Last week, Metro released findings from independent geologists that said that a Century City subway station on Santa Monica Blvd. could be dangerous, as it would sit too close to the Santa Monica Fault and the West Beverly Hills Lineament, which is now confirmed to be part of the huge and dangerous Newport-Inglewood Fault that stretches all the way to Baja California. The intensive studies--requested by Beverly Hills officials (who are fighting for a station on Santa Monica Blvd. so that the subway tunnel doesn't go underneath Beverly Hills High School)--nailed down the location of the Lineament. That information will be extremely helpful for future construction of not only subways, but skyscrapers and other buildings, according to a story on LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's website. "Knowing that the Newport-Inglewood Fault is active this far north is new," Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geologic Survey and Caltech told Yaroslavsky's staff. The finding is "of significant import for the city of Los Angeles." The findings could lead to new zoning regulations, USC earth sciences professor James Dolan, who led the studies, said.
According to Yaroslavsky's site, the WHBL goes north-northwest from Culver City and cuts through Beverly Hills and the eastern part of Century City. A "major event" on the Lineament could create an earthquake between magnitudes 6.4 and 7.2.
It'll be interesting to see how this information could affect projects like 10000 Santa Monica Blvd. and even the expansion of Beverly Hills High School (maybe school officials should be less concerned about the subway and more worried that their 1920s-era school is so close to two earthquake faults?).
· Fault Finding Breaks New Ground [Zev Yaroslavsky]
· Scientists Recommend Century City Station That Would Require Tunneling Under BHHS [Curbed LA]
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