A peek into the Regional Connector’s under-construction 2nd/Hope station

A giant pit that will eventually be a subway station

By Bianca Barragan Feb 20, 2017, 11:16am PST

The site of the future 2nd/Hope station for the Regional Connector is a huge pit right now, but there’s a lot of work going on inside that pit to transform it into one of three new subway stops along a subterranean rail tunnel that will link up the existing Gold, Blue, and Expo lines.

These photos, posted on The Source, offer a good look into the approximately 100-foot-deep hole, which is just west of the Broad Museum and can be seen from the back of the plaza between the Broad and the Otium restaurant.

The 2nd/Hope station will connect to that plaza by way of a cool pedestrian bridge that would offer a bit of seating and some landscaping for those crossing from the station up to the attractions on Grand Avenue.

The other stations along the Connector are the 1st/Central station in Little Tokyo and 2nd/Broadway in the Historic Core. (Those names might change; Metro is looking to give the stations names that hint at attractions nearby.)

The 1.9-mile-long Regional Connector is expected to be complete in 2021. When it opens, it will allow for one-seat rides between Santa Monica and East LA and between Azusa and Long Beach, eliminating the need for riders to transfer between those trains as they do now.