Beginning a process that will ultimately bring some form of mass transit through the traffic-clogged Sepulveda Pass, Metro began soliciting bids Wednesday from companies interested in conducting a feasibility study of potential modes of transit, and what routes they should take.
"The Sepulveda Pass remains one of the most intractable choke points in the entire L.A. region, impacting hundreds of thousands of motorists on a daily basis," said Duarte Mayor Pro Tem John Fasana, a Metro board member. "That's why we are laser-focused on finding a transit solution that will finally give Angelenos a choice to avoid this freeway's rush-hour gridlock."
The bidding process will identify a consultant to study "high-capacity'' transit alternatives stretching 11 miles between the Metro Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley, the future Purple Line subway station in either Westwood or the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration hospital, and continuing to the Metro Expo Line in West LA.
The combination of the 2008 Measure R transportation sales tax and the more recently approved Measure M tax, Metro has nearly $8 billion earmarked for the project.
The study, which is expected to take 14 months to complete once a consultant is hired, will include an evaluation of rapid-transit buses, light rail, subway and potentially other modes of transit not currently operated in the region.
Metro's current schedule calls for a transit system to be built through the Sepulveda Pass by 2033, but agency officials said they are exploring options to accelerate the project.
Metro is already conducting a study of potential toll lanes on the San Diego (405) Freeway between the Ventura (101) and Santa Monica (10) freeways.
