Final Westside Subway Extension Plan Nears, Public Comment Begins

Routing and station placement is expected to be finalized by Oct. 28.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is hosting the first of five meetings Monday night to hear from the public before finalizing plans for the Westside subway extension project.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIS/EIR) which details impacts of construction and operation of the project, was released on September 3, 2010.

The report also details two options that would be funded under Prop R and federal matching funds. Both would extend the Metro Purple line from Wilshire/Western to the Westside but the first alternative would end the line at Westwood/UCLA.  The second alternative would include UCLA and extend the line closer to the 405, with a final stop at the VA Hospital campus.

Additional extensions have been proposed that would include connecting Santa Monica and West Hollywood but no money is currently available to fund them.

The plan is not without its critics.

A plan Metro unveiled a few months ago would place a stop at Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Starts. The stop, in the middle of Century City, has upset residents who say the tunneling under their neighborhood would undermine houses and reduce property values.

In 1995, business were evacuated and several buildings were deemed unstable when sinkholes developed after tunneling under Hollywood Boulevard.

The project is expected to cost between $4.2 and $9 billion. Following public comment, the Board of Directors of Metro are expected to decide on the routing and station placement for the project by Oct. 28.

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