The Region - News from June 20, 1985

A $25.8-million agreement for the purchase of 16 miles of right of way for the Long Beach-Los Angeles light rail line was celebrated as “a major milestone” in returning regional rail transit to the Southern California. Denman K. McNear, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Southern Pacific Transportation Co., and Jacki Bacharach, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, signed the agreement during a ceremony in Los Angeles’ Roosevelt Park. The pact will allow passenger rail cars to travel over the old Red Car trolley routes that compose most of the 21-mile light rail line. Construction on the $600-million project is scheduled to begin in the fall and will be funded by a half-cent sales tax, approved by Los Angeles County voters in 1980. The line is expected to be finished in 1989.