The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is one step closer to determining the future route of the K Line northern extension — which is set to be the most expensive rail line ever built.
The underground line is estimated to cost anywhere from $11 billion to nearly $15 billion, and would connect two major east-west lines — potentially creating a direct route from LAX to some of the city’s most famous landmarks. But, it’s not expected to open for 25 years.
The extension would extend north from the Crenshaw District through Wilshire to Hollywood, and all proposed routes would connect the D Line (purple) at Expo/Crenshaw station to the B Line (red) at Hollywood/Highland station, with a potential terminus at the Hollywood Bowl.
This blockbuster project will cut commuter travel time in half. It takes about 80 minutes to travel from Los Angeles International Airport to Miracle Mile by car. The extended line will reduce travel time between the two locations to about 30 minutes.
The trip by train from Hollywood to Inglewood will be 35 minutes, compared to the current 75-minute trip by car during rush hour.
Metro staff are considering three major routes – each of which will pass through the city’s most congested areas. These routes have been confirmed in an agency report. Draft Environmental Impact Assessmente-port In July:
The shortest and fastest route is called La Brea and it is a 6.2 mile long line that runs roughly along Crenshaw boulevard and La Brea routeThere are six stations on this line and this one is the farthest east. Passengers will have to travel about 12 minutes from start to finish.
The other option is Fairfax, a 15-minute, 8-mile line that runs northwest from La Brea along San Vicente Boulevard to West Hollywood, then east along Santa Monica Boulevard. The seven-station line will connect major destinations including the Miracle Mile, The Grove, the Original Farmers Market and Television City.
San Vicente-Fairfax is the longest route at 9.7 miles, going farthest west to near the Beverly Hills border, with nine new stations. The trip could last about 20 minutes.
Construction section of the KNE LA Metro.
(LA Metro)
The City of West Hollywood has been a supporter of the San Vicente–Fairfax option.
“This route will provide improved commute options to major healthcare and employment centers like Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the Pacific Design Center, as well as cultural and entertainment venues like The Grove and the Hollywood Bowl,” said Mayor John Erickson.
Online reaction to the metro project Environmental Impact Report That echoes the agency’s dilemma: choosing speed and convenience, or creating a local communicator for densely populated areas.
Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at UC Berkeley School of Law, says Metro should meet the needs of regional commuters.
“I think it will depend on an analysis of current ridership trends, but also on growth patterns,” said Elkind, author of History of the modern LA Metro Rail system“In my own view, you should go where the ridership is the highest, where you’re going to serve the most people.”
According to Metro, ridership between the major rail lines — B (red), D (purple), E (Expo) and C (green) — was more than 110 million in 2019. The agency’s bus routes had an estimated 277 million riders that year.
The K line extension is anticipated to serve over 85,000 passengers daily—providing travel from the South Bay/LAX area to lines to the San Fernando Valley, which is expected to get its own service. Construction of the light-rail project will begin this year,
The biggest question is whether the project will get people out of their cars to reduce traffic. Elkind said that’s highly unlikely.
“These projects don’t reduce traffic, even if they attract riders who were previously car drivers,” he said. “You have this concept of induced demand, where, if they’re reducing traffic on surface streets, it encourages people to drive more.”
One Urban Mobility Report A study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that in 2022, the average auto commuter in Los Angeles faced 122 hours of delays, costing them $3,214.
Elkind recommends that cities implement congestion pricing, in which road access is priced at critical times to discourage unnecessary trips on busy roads.
According to a report Mineta Transportation Institute San Jose State considered tolls to reduce traffic congestion, but found that it would not motivate commuters to reschedule their trips.
“Traditional tolls would either be ineffective or too harsh for commuters, and higher tolls would likely face significant political resistance,” the report said.
The metro is currently Exploring locations for congestion pricing Generating revenue for the agency’s transportation projects and helping to reduce traffic.
Central Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and the Westside are all contenders for this pilot program set to begin in 2028.
The expansion project will reach neighborhoods home to approximately 324,000 L.A. residents — potentially boosting foot traffic and economic development in areas with low employment density.
“I think the real benefit of a project like this is that it will make the city more accessible by transportation, open up more transportation opportunities for people and increase the number of transportation riders while also accommodating new growth, new population growth, new economic growth, new development,” Elkind said.
Trains of up to three coaches will be able to be parked on underground boarding platforms. Most stations will allow trains to switch tracks for operational flexibility.
Construction work is expected to begin in 2041 and be completed by 2049.
Efforts to accelerate the construction phase are being examined by West Hollywood, the City of LA, and Metro’s Early Project Delivery Initiative — which aims to identify which transportation projects can be completed ahead of schedule without delaying other projects.
The project comes after the line’s first phase, which began in 2014, was pushed back three years due to a number of problems during construction. The project ended up costing $90 million over budget.
A final decision on all three alignments will be presented to Metro’s board of directors following a public comment period. The face-to-face meeting will be held on Saturday at Dorsey High School in the Crenshaw area. The public comment period will run through Sept. 5.
“This will be a win-win not just for the people of West Hollywood, but for people throughout the metropolitan area who want to commute to the subway,” Mayor Erickson said.
Times staff writer Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.
