It's happening: the Metro board has awarded a contract to build the Purple Line subway extension alllll the way from Western to La Cienega (three whole stops, 3.9 miles, but it's a start; the line will eventually run to Westwood). The board picked the bid from the experienced team of Skanska, Traylor and Shea—the most expensive by about $193 million—because staff think it provides the "best opportunity to deliver the project on time and on budget," reports The Source. Preliminary work like utility relocation and exploratory digging (which has yielded some awesome fossils) has been going on for a while now, but the contract means earnest work can finally begin (this project has only been in the works for slightly less than a century); new stations will be built at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega on the very edge of Beverly Hills.
The most current timeline is below and the line is set to open in 2023, assuming both Los Angeles and Beverly Hills allow Metro to work extended hours, which isn't necessarily a sure thing. Miracle Mile residents have been a little fussy and Beverly Hills has been doing everything in its power to stop this project, although they did finally give Metro construction permits.
· Metro Board approves $1.6-billion contract to construct first phase of the Purple Line Extension subway [The Source]
· Take a Video Journey Into Metro's Fossil-Filled Fairfax Pit [Curbed LA]
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