Report on Danger to Subway Walls Prompts Call for Probe
Supervisor Mike Antonovich called Thursday for a Los Angeles County grand jury investigation of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, citing a report of potential damage to subway walls by ground water.
An Army Corps of Engineers report released earlier this month warned that a plastic tunnel liner on the first Metro Red Line segment was torn and could allow highly acidic ground water to eat away at subway walls.
Antonovich, an ardent subway foe, said the deficiencies could mean millions of dollars in maintenance costs on the 4.4-mile-long subway segment, which runs between Union Station and MacArthur Park.
The first Metro Red Line segment opened in 1993 at a cost of more than $1.4 billion.
“Questions that relate to accountability by the designer and neglect by the agency or consultant must be answered to protect the taxpayers,” Antonovich said.
But MTA Chief Executive Officer Joe Drew said questions stemming from the report were “already raised and answered to the satisfaction of a congressional transportation committee.”
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