Subway Cost-Cutting Plan Wins Backing

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky on Monday endorsed an MTA staff proposal to save millions of dollars by eliminating plans for constructing two subway “crossover” tunnels.

Eliminating the crossover tracks on the Metro Red Line under the Hollywood Hills between Universal City and the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street would cut $27 million in costs and avoid the need for 70,000 pounds of explosives.

Pairs of crossover tracks are used so that trains can move from one tunnel track to another in emergencies or for track maintenance. The crossovers allow a train to take a detour when its path is blocked.

“It would be a nice convenience--but it’s not worth $27 million,” said Yaroslavsky, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member whose district includes the hillside communities involved in extending the subway to its North Hollywood terminus. He made his remarks at a news conference near the subway construction site just north of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.

The crossover tracks would require lateral tunnel passages between the main subway tunnels. Construction of these crossover passages must be done by blasting, not drilling--which would have a substantial environmental impact. Costly measures would be necessary to protect the Runyon Canyon seasonal springs above ground.

“This is a no-brainer,” Yaroslavsky said of the proposal to omit the crossover tracks. “It has cost savings and environmental protection both.”

Yaroslavsky’s transportation deputy, Samantha Bricker, said eliminating the crossovers would not pose a safety hazard because there are pairs of crossover tunnels at the Universal City stop and the Hollywood and Vine stop. Crossovers are usually used when the distance from stop to stop is so lengthy that holding traffic at one stop so a train can switch tracks would mean a long tie-up in traffic. But the distance between the two stops is a relatively short 15 minutes, Bricker said.

“It’s just a question of distance; it’s not a question of safety,” Bricker said.

Yaroslavsky was accompanied at the news conference by MTA construction chief Charles Stark, who said that the Red Line should be completed by May 2000, extending from downtown to North Hollywood.

The subway project has been beset by financial difficulties and community opposition to various elements. The MTA is under pressure to complete the subway on time and under budget in order to win back the confidence of the federal government, which is helping fund the Metro Rail project.

Also at the news conference was perennial anti-MTA gadfly John Walsh, carrying a giant banner (“Metro Rail Death Trap”), who agreed that the crossovers were unnecessary. But, he said angrily, “they should have done this four years ago.”

The proposal to drop the crossover tunnels will go before the MTA’s Construction Committee on Wednesday. If approved, it will go to the full MTA board on Feb. 26.