Work Begun on 2nd Leg of Metro Rail Subway
Work has begun on the second leg of the $3.5-billion Metro Rail subway project, set to run from downtown Los Angeles through Hollywood and the Mid-Wilshire district.
When completed, the Red Line will link downtown with Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. Ground was broken Thursday for the Red Line’s 6.7-mile second segment, which will connect downtown with Hollywood by 1998. The Red Line’s first segment is scheduled to open in 1993. A third section not yet under construction will complete the link to the San Fernando Valley.
“Public transportation that connects major cities in the Los Angeles Basin is becoming a reality,” said Mayor Tom Bradley during ceremonies in the Wilshire area west of downtown.
The Metro Rail system’s 22-mile Blue Line surface rail, which connects Los Angeles with the city of Long Beach, was completed earlier this year.
The Metro Rail program has been plagued by hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns and has run continuously behind schedule.
A report issued in November estimated the overruns at more than $500 million, boosting the total cost to nearly $4 billion.
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