With a few swings of his golden sledgehammer, construction worker Leo Avalos drove a steel clip into the last rail tie that completed the light-rail tracks that soon will extend the A Line train 9.1 miles from Glendora to Pomona.
The historic milestone was marked on a blustery Saturday, June 24, on the fresh tracks at D Street north of Arrow Highway in La Verne, as dignitaries cheered and took photos. The moment literally sets in concrete the last of the 230,630 rail clips for the electric train to travel on, once the rest of the extension is built and rail car doors open for service in January 2025.
With track completion, the project is about 18 months away from bringing light-rail service not just from Los Angeles and Pasadena but from as far south as Long Beach all the way to Pomona.
“I can’t tell you how much this project means to the city of Pomona. Far too many of our kids in our city have never been to the beach, never been to the Norton Simon Museum (in Pasadena), or The Getty. Downtown L.A. or the Aquarium of the Pacific (in Long Beach). That’s what this project means — our children will have the opportunity to realize their full potential,” said Pomona Mayor and LA Metro board member Tim Sandoval, speaking at the milestone ceremony.
Currently, what was once the Gold Line, then the L Line, is now part of the A Line, the 50-mile light-rail that takes passengers without transferring from Long Beach to Azusa. The new designation was made possible by the opening on June 16 of Metro’s Regional Connector line in Downtown Los Angeles.
The foothill cities’ “Gold Line Extension” will have four new stations in Glendora, La Verne, San Dimas and Pomona that are still under construction. Construction crews have finished the tracks, 21 at-grade crossings plus 19 new or renovated bridges. These include the Foothill/Grand Avenue Bridge and the Lone Hill Avenue Bridge in Glendora and the Bonita Avenue/Cataract Avenue Bridge in San Dimas.
The…
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