$11-Million Loss Seen in Metro Subway Rerouting

The need to find a new route for the Los Angeles Metro Rail subway on the Westside could mean the loss of up to $11 million worth of engineering already completed on the route previously charted and then rejected, officials said Thursday.

In addition, Southern California Rapid Transit District officials said, some of the new routes being considered could be as much as three miles longer than the 18.6-mile earlier version, which could add significantly to the cost. The system is estimated to cost approximately $200 million per mile.

Under a congressional mandate to reroute the subway, RTD officials Wednesday released six alternatives, each guiding the system either over or around potentially hazardous methane gas pockets in the Fairfax District.

Despite the possible longer routes, RTD President Nikolas Patsaouras told reporters that he is “confident ridership and cost will be as good or better” on the new route that the board ultimately chooses.

Patsaouras declined to say which of the routes appears most likely to win the delicate balance of political support that jelled around the previous route. But he acknowledged that the two routes involving elevated sections through the Fairfax District would encounter the most opposition from elected officials and homeowners.

If the two-pronged approach is followed, Patsaouras said, up to $11 million of the $70 million to $80 million already spent on engineering studies could go “down the drain.” Meanwhile, RTD announced that public meetings on the rerouting will be staged Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. The hearings will be held simultaneously that evening at Los Angeles High School, 4650 W. Olympic Blvd.; The Greater Los Angeles Press Club, 600 N. Vermont Ave.; the Electrical Workers Hall, 4189 W. 2nd St. and the Women’s Center at Council House, 543 N. Fairfax Ave.