A planned 1.6-mile, $1.5 billion elevated rail line connecting downtown Inglewood with the emerging sports and entertainment center around SoFi Stadium and with the countywide rail network has taken some major steps forward in recent weeks.
On Jan. 31, the California State Transportation Agency awarded the project $407 million as part of its transit and intercity rail program. The agency had previously awarded $93 million in transit funds for the project; last month’s grant brings the state’s total funding to $500 million.
Two weeks earlier, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority formalized an agreement with the city of Inglewood to form a joint powers authority in charge of constructing the elevated train guideway and three new transit stations.
The joint powers authority will also operate the rail line once it’s built. That’s unlike a similar authority set up to build the Foothill Gold Line rail extension project in the Eastern San Gabriel Valley; when that project is completed, operation of the Gold Line extension will be turned over to Metro.
This brings the long-planned automated rail project closer to reality and it comes amid a development boom. Billionaire Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke built the $5 billion SoFi Stadium complex and is in the midst of the first phase of residential and retail development on the former Hollywood Park grounds surrounding the stadium. Across the way, another billionaire sports team owner, Steve Ballmer of the Los Angeles Clippers, is building a $2 billion arena to host that basketball franchise.
These follow the renovation of what is now the Kia Forum nearly a decade ago.
And last fall, Metro’s $2.1 billion K Line, formerly known as the Crenshaw-LAX rail line, finally opened, cutting a path through the northern part of the city, about a half-mile north of the central business and civic district.
“Over the past decade we have been able to attract unprecedented economic investment in our…
Read the full article here
