Red Line Project Approval Falls 1 Vote Short
After hammering out delicate compromises with school officials, hospital administrators and city traffic engineers to mitigate the effect of its biggest construction project to date, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission failed Wednesday to approve the project itself.
The surprising action, which came after community activists raised doubts about the safety, health and traffic effects, could be reversed next Wednesday, when the commission will again consider the $200-million project.
The project fell one vote shy of the six needed for approval.
The project involves digging four miles of tunnels for the second leg of the Metro Red Line subway under Vermont Street and Hollywood Boulevard. Engineers originally planned to extract waste rock from three shafts spaced evenly along the route but later decided to remove the earth through only one shaft to save money.
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