Hollywood : Metro Rail Building Plans

Metro Rail officials have altered the timetable for building two Hollywood Boulevard stations of the Red Line subway in an effort to shorten the disruption caused by construction.

By building the proposed stations at Highland Avenue and at Vine Street simultaneously, Metro Rail officials said they hope to shave at least eight months off the construction time, lessening traffic problems caused by the project and other adverse impacts on area residents and businesses.

The coordination effort, announced this week, was recently approved by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which is overseeing the Red Line project, and its construction subsidiary, the Rail Construction Corp.

Councilman Michael Woo, who requested the acceleration, and his appointed citizens advisory group expressed strong support for advancing and coordinating the construction. “That way,” Woo said, “Hollywood Boulevard only gets dug up once, and the disruption is over sooner.”

The new schedule calls for construction to start in April, 1993, and last until April, 1996. Under the previous schedule, work on the Highland Avenue station was to start three months later and last until January, 1997.

In order to launch both construction efforts at the same time, design work on the Highland Station must begin immediately, and bids will go out in November, 1992, according to Woo and rail officials.