MTA’s Guided Tour of Subway Tunneling Site Eases Some Area Residents’ Fears

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has had more than its share of bad publicity as it struggles to build a subway system.

The project has been hit hard by news of cost overruns, a deadly accident, attacks from politicians and even a disaster movie.

But some residents who had a chance to visit a Universal City subway construction site Saturday said they see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“It eased a lot of my fears,” said Sharon Childers, a Studio City resident who said she had been skeptical of the safety of the project because of news reports of construction problems.

Childers was part of a tour of the Universal City subway station at Lankershim Boulevard arranged by the MTA for those who live in neighborhoods around the tunnel being bored from Hollywood to Universal City.

About 150 residents donned hard hats and rubber boots to descend nearly 100 feet into the dark, wet mouth of the tunnel.

“The average person doesn’t truly understand the magnitude until they lay their eyes on it. This helps people gain an understanding of what it is we’re doing,” said John Price, safety coordinator for JMA, the construction management consortium hired by the MTA to ensure the quality of the project.

The boring of the tunnel is about two-thirds finished, with roughly 8,000 feet of its 12,500-foot length dug, according to JMA engineer Gary Kramer, who guided visitors through the tunnel entrance.

Although the digging should be done by August, transforming the tunnel into a working rail line will take several years. “We’re 75% finished with 95% left to go,” joked Price.

Michael Payne, a Hollywood Hills resident whose house is above the tunnel route, said he had opposed the project because he thought the construction would harm the environment.

Payne said that after learning more about the project he believes it will not hurt the ground water deposits in the hills as much as he had thought, and he is becoming less wary of the tunneling.

After taking the tour, Payne said he was sold on the project’s worth. “I was extremely impressed by the enormity of the project. I hope they pull it off. I hate the politics [surrounding the project].”