HOLLYWOOD : Officials Ask U.S. to Inspect Subway-Related Soil Sinking

Two state legislators called Tuesday for federal inspections of the Metro Rail subway construction that has caused the ground to sink in a section of Hollywood Boulevard.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), chairman of the Transportation Committee, asked the Federal Transit Administration to conduct an inspection, and Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) made a similar request to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Federal Transit Administration has engineers monitoring the subway construction, but a spokesman said the agency had not received Katz’s request and could not respond. There was no immediate response from the Corps of Engineers.

Tunneling was halted Thursday after a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard sank as much as nine inches and the Walk of Fame cracked and buckled. MTA officials believe the subsidence was caused by water leaks in loosely packed, sandy soil.

Separately, Ed McSpedon, president of the MTA’s Rail Construction Corp., said in an appearance before the City Council that no decision has been made on when tunneling will resume.

A panel of experts has been brought in to assess the project, and additional soil tests are being conducted. The MTA is considering injecting grouting into the ground to harden it before tunneling proceeds.