Valley Subway Riders Face a Slow Timetable

San Fernando Valley commuters won’t see light at the end of the Red Line subway tunnel for at least another four years.

That is when they are supposed to be able to board subway cars at stations in North Hollywood and Studio City for a 55-mph ride to Hollywood, Wilshire Boulevard and downtown.

The opening date is a bit iffy, however, because construction is going slower than the Metropolitan Transportation Authority expected.

Tunneling beneath Lankershim Boulevard was delayed for more than a year after a digging machine bogged down in the area’s loose, sandy soil. The excavation contractor was forced to shoot an expensive “chemical grout” into the ground to harden it up in advance of the tunneling machine.

The grouting has already caused budget overruns of more than $22 million, and the cost could increase even further if dozens of property owners along the route successfully sue the MTA for damages.

The Lankershim tunneling is about 80% complete, but more than half of the construction job remains as contractors must next finish the tunnel with electrical and additional cement work, as well as build a station.

Tunneling from Studio City to Hollywood through the Santa Monica Mountains began in earnest only in May. MTA construction executives forecast that this excavation would go smoothly because most of the route is expected to be hard rock 800 feet underground. But digging slowed to a crawl when a tunnel-boring machine bogged down again in an initial 1,800-foot section from the Hollywood Freeway past Ventura Boulevard characterized by a soft, clay-like dirt.

Construction of the Studio City station will begin after the tunnel is complete.