How's that Rampture going, Westsiders? Perhaps you would prefer an alternative to the 405? Lucky for you Metro is studying the issue, with a report expected out in the fall. Unlucky for you, a project isn't expected to be completed right now until about 2039, although it could be sped up if the Measure R extension goes through. Meanwhile Metro staff has released a report on six broad concepts they're considering for the Sepulveda Pass corridor--the ideas come in a lot of transit flavors, all cover different ground (over a roughly 30 mile zone between the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink station and LAX), and offer various options for things like additional carpool/toll lanes. As The Source notes, "Funding will obviously be a challenge, as Measure R is scheduled to provide $1 billion for a project that could potentially cost a lot more than that." Here's a brief synopsis of the six concepts under consideration:
-- Bus rapid transit that could be an extension of the East Valley corridor (if that ends up being BRT). It would run for six miles through the Sepulveda Pass, then 12 miles to connect to the LAX/Transit Gateway Center primarily on surface streets and through the Pass on the 405 shoulder.
-- Bus rapid transit that "combines the transit improvement with the implementation of managed lanes on the I-405 Freeway for 29 miles between the I-5 split in the north San Fernando Valley to the I-105 Freeway near LAX."
-- Bus rapid transit with an aerial viaduct above the 405 between the 101 and the 10.
-- Bus rapid transit with a toll tunnel under the Sepulveda Pass running about 11 miles from 101 to Venice or Santa Monica Boulevard.
-- Light rail along a route that "could extend in a tunnel beneath the mountains from either Van Nuys or Sepulveda Boulevards in the Valley for at least six miles to a portal on the Westside that could be located near Sunset Boulevard at the UCLA Campus, or farther south in a tunnel to the Metro Purple Line or Expo Line."
-- A large bore tunnel operated by a concessionaire who would collect tolls. It could "operate solely as a highway tunnel with transit buses or as a highway tunnel with a rail transit component. There would be intermediate access points at Santa Monica Boulevard and Howard Hughes Parkway."
The whole study is embedded over at The Source.
· Study update on Sepulveda Pass Transit Corridor; many concepts under review [The Source]
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