The Gold Line Foothill extension, the light rail line's 11.5-mile eastward advance from Pasadena to Azusa, is now more than 50 percent complete. We got a tour of all the action on the line, which is packed with workers welding, hammering, and moving rail. Let's take it station by station: The Arcadia stop, located east of the high-profile basket bridge, is in the walkable, downtown area, but development plans in the area remain pretty nascent. Contrast with the next stop in Monrovia, which has big plans to rebuild the area around the station and add parks, amphitheaters, restaurants, and mixed-use buildings—work on the green space should start this summer. The city's old '20s-era train depot will likely be turned into a restaurant, but they're waiting on interest from investors who could renovate the structure.
Then there's the giant maintenance campus, where trains will be cleaned and tuned, and which will employ dozens, if not hundreds of people. The Duarte station is a short walk to the City of Hope hospital, but is in an otherwise pretty desolate spot; however, it's the first station that's starting to resemble an actual station. The Irwindale station, beyond the Santa Anita bridge, will be the final one to start work. The two Azusa stations are well along; the western stop is handily located across from a Target. Azusa had a historic depot, too, but it's not clear what will come of it. The terminus station is in early stages and is near Azusa Pacific College, Citrus College, and the upscale Rosedale housing community.
The Gold Line Construction Authority has a deadline to finish work in September 2015, after which they'll hand off the line to Metro for testing. Jeff Rowland, the community relations manager for contractor Kiewit-Parsons says that they would love to get the project to Metro even before then if possible.
· Gold Line Foothill Extension [Curbed LA]
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