The Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project is a two-phased planned transit corridor project that aims to connect the
Los Angeles Basin
The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an anomalous group of east-west trending chains of mountains collectively known as the Tr ...
to the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
through
Sepulveda Pass
Sepulveda Pass (elevation ) is a low mountain pass through the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles. It is named after the Sepúlveda family of California, a prominent Californio family that owned the land where the pass lies.
It connects the ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, by supplementing the existing
I-405 freeway through the pass. The corridor would partly parallel I-405, and proposed alternatives include a
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
(subway) or a
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
line connecting the
G Line in the Valley to the
D Line and
E Line on the
Westside, and the
K Line
is a Japanese transportation company. It owns a fleet that includes dry cargo ships (bulk carriers), container ships, liquefied natural gas carriers, Ro-Ro ships, tankers, and container terminals. It used to be the fourteenth largest contai ...
near
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
.
I-405 over Sepulveda Pass between
I-10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
and
US 101, which the proposed transit line will run parallel to, is the busiest highway corridor in the United States, serving 379,000 vehicles per day.
Overview
![Los Angeles County Proposition A rail rapid transit system map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Los_Angeles_County_Proposition_A_rail_rapid_transit_system_map.png)
The line is a long-established goal in Los Angeles transit planning.
Proposition A
The Southern California Rapid Transit District (almost always referred to as ''RTD'' or rarely as ''SCRTD'') was a public transportation agency established in 1964 to serve the Greater Los Angeles area. It was the successor to the original Los ...
, which imposed a half-cent sales tax in
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
to fund a regional transit system, was passed in 1980, and a Sepulveda Pass line was in the project map that was part of the proposition's documentation.
The
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), commonly branded as Metro, LA Metro, and L.A. Metro, is the state agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the transportation system in Los Angele ...
(Metro) has $10 billion in funds available for construction planned to begin in 2026.
The plan included in the
Measure M
Measure R was a ballot measure during the November 2008 elections in Los Angeles County, California, that proposed a half-cent sales taxes increase on each dollar of taxable sales (originating in or made from Los Angeles County) for thirty years i ...
transportation funding measure is to build improvements in three stages: additional lanes to be used for express bus service to open by 2028, an transit project between the G Line's
Van Nuys Station
Van Nuys station is an Amtrak and Metrolink train station in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Amtrak's ''Pacific Surfliner'' from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, Amtrak's ''Coast Starlight'' from Los Angeles to Seattle, Wash ...
and the
D Line Extension
The Metro Purple (D Line) Extension Transit Project, formerly known as the Westside Subway Extension and the Subway to the Sea, is a construction project in Los Angeles County, California, extending the rapid transit D Line (formerly the Purple ...
’s Wilshire/Westwood Station by 2035, and a planned extension to LAX with a 2059 completion date. In April 2017, Metro issued a
Request for Proposals to study alternatives, and several companies sent unsolicited proposals to accelerate the project via
public-private partnerships. The project's timeline is expected to be accelerated under the
Twenty-eight by '28
The Twenty-eight by '28 initiative is an effort set forth by former Mayor Eric Garcetti that the City of Los Angeles complete 28 transportation infrastructure projects before the start of the 2028 Summer Olympics on and the 2028 Summer Paralympics ...
initiative. The Metro Board of Directors in late 2019 will decide which concept routes to start the project's formal environmental studies.
Initial proposed routings and modes
In June 2018, Metro released its initial six alternative rail concepts for the corridor. All of the proposals provided connections between the G Line (at
Sepulveda,
Van Nuys
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, t ...
, or both) and the E Line (at
Expo/Sepulveda or
Expo/Bundy), as well as to the
D Line Extension
The Metro Purple (D Line) Extension Transit Project, formerly known as the Westside Subway Extension and the Subway to the Sea, is a construction project in Los Angeles County, California, extending the rapid transit D Line (formerly the Purple ...
, currently under construction, and to the
East San Fernando Light Rail Transit Project
The East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project (formerly the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor Project) is a transit project which proposes the construction of a light rail line on the east side of Los Angeles's San Fernando Va ...
, currently being planned. The proposals fell into four categories:
*A standalone heavy rail line, primarily underground but possibly with some elevated sections in the Valley.
*A continuation of the East San Fernando Light Rail Transit Project, primarily underground but with a possible elevated spur to Sepulveda station.
*A
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
or
rubber-tired metro
A rubber-tyred metro or rubber-tired metro is a form of rapid transit system that uses a mix of road and rail technology. The vehicles have wheels with rubber tires that run on rolling pads inside guide bars for traction, as well as traditional ...
line, underground on the Westside, elevated in the Valley, and running at grade or elevated along the 405.
*An further extension of the heavy rail D Line, with a
wye that would allow direct connections between the Valley and the E Line as well as from both to downtown. This option would be mostly underground but could include elevated sections in the Valley.
In January 2019, Metro released a refined second set of rail concepts for the corridor, eliminating light rail and rubber-tired metro technology from consideration and narrowing it down to four concepts:
*Three routings for a heavy rail line, primarily underground but possibly with some elevated sections in the Valley.
*A
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
, underground on the Westside, elevated in the Valley along
Sepulveda Blvd
Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the City of Los Angeles and several other cities in western Los Angeles County, California. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda Bo ...
, and running at grade or elevated along the 405, terminating at the
Van Nuys Metrolink station.
In July 2019, Metro released a third refined rail concept after community input. These mainly covered the same routes but with a station added at Santa Monica Boulevard Station in reaction to public feedback. Both costs and ridership projections were higher for these proposals.
The feasibility study for both phases was completed and presented in November 2019, with no significant refinement from the July 2019 presentation. The study said that additional research was needed on whether the project would need to relocate or maneuver around a nine-foot wide
DWP water pipe called the "Sepulveda Feeder." Additional studies were also called for on general station locations, tunnel design configuration, rider transfer patterns, and the identification of costs and cost reductions. The study also called for more information to be gathered on the impact of the Santa Monica Fault near Santa Monica Boulevard. The Metro Board then commenced the
NEPA
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.Un ...
and
CEQA
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a California statute passed in 1970 and signed in to law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan, shortly after the United States federal government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), t ...
scoping process.
Two engineering firms were chosen to prepare pre-development materials for the two potential modes. Monorail proposals were developed by
BYD LA SkyRail Express, while heavy rail work proposals were prepared by
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. , the ''Engineering News-Record'' ranked Bechtel as the sec ...
. By December 2021, six alternatives had been prepared for further consideration: three heavy rail and three monorail (one of which included a separate
automated people mover
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
to serve UCLA). On June 16, 2022, Metro reported that 93% of public comments favored a heavy rail option versus 7%, which favored monorail.
Phase One: ''Valley–Westside''
Initial alternatives analysis
In November 2021, the
CEQA
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a California statute passed in 1970 and signed in to law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan, shortly after the United States federal government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), t ...
notice for the project alternatives was released, with an environmental scoping period to begin in February 2022. Rail options were refined to three monorail and three heavy rail alternatives. Monorail options 1 and 2 did not include a station on the
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
campus and proposed connecting transit options instead. The new alternatives are being considered for the Draft
Environmental Impact Report[https://thesource.metro.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Refined-Concepts.jpg ] north to south routes from the Valley to E Line were as follows:
In April 2021, Metro advanced five routes to the next study stage, including three routes selected as part of Metro's
public-private partnership solicitation for the line. The P3 proposals came from
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. , the ''Engineering News-Record'' ranked Bechtel as the sec ...
and
BYD Company
BYD Co. Ltd. ("Build Your Dreams" Chinese: 比亚迪股份有限公司) is a publicly listed Chinese conglomerate manufacturing company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It was founded by Wang Chuanfu in February 1995.[Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. , the ''Engineering News-Record'' ranked Bechtel as the sec ...]
. The rival design is a monorail as planned by
BYD LA SkyRail Express.
A scoping process carried out by Metro from November 2021 to February 2022 showed a heavy majority favoring heavy rail over monorail, with the tally being 93% to 7%, respectively. Heavy rail alternatives were cited by comments as having better transfer options to other lines, faster travel times, and more familiarity with the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. Results of an official public opinion survey conducted by Metro during July and August 2022 to gauge public opinions about the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project were released in December 2022. After describing details of both rail types were presented to residents, an HRT underground option stood at 71% approval, with respondents citing shorter travel time and fewer surface impacts.
The Project is currently in the environmental review phase involving the development of an
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the
California Environmental Quality Act
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a California statute passed in 1970 and signed in to law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan, shortly after the United States federal government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), t ...
(CEQA), and subsequently an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.Un ...
(NEPA). The Draft EIR will evaluate Project alternatives representing a range of rail transit modes, alignments, and station locations for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project. Once the Draft EIR has been completed and circulated for public comment, a
Locally Preferred Alternative In mathematics, a mathematical object is said to satisfy a property locally, if the property is satisfied on some limited, immediate portions of the object (e.g., on some ''sufficiently small'' or ''arbitrarily small'' neighbourhood (mathematics), n ...
(LPA) will be recommended to the Metro Board of Directors. After the LPA is identified, the Final EIR, Draft EIS, and Final EIS will be prepared to complete the environmental review process.
Phase Two: ''Westside–LAX''
Initial alternatives analysis
Early concepts for phase two from E Line to the (at the time unbuilt but now operational)
K Line
is a Japanese transportation company. It owns a fleet that includes dry cargo ships (bulk carriers), container ships, liquefied natural gas carriers, Ro-Ro ships, tankers, and container terminals. It used to be the fourteenth largest contai ...
were released in 2019, with detailed connections to the under-construction
LAX Automated People Mover
The LAX Automated People Mover is an automated people mover (APM) system around the Los Angeles International Airport area, currently under construction for Los Angeles World Airports. To be operated by LAX Integrated Express Solutions, the LA ...
.
Metro hopes to complete the feasibility study by 2019 and begin an environmental impact review along with phase one.
There are two main modes for phase two of the corridor. Five proposed concepts begin at either
Expo/Bundy station or
Expo/Sepulveda station
Expo/Sepulveda station is an elevated light rail station in Los Angeles. It serves the E Line.
History
Originally "Vervain" station, it was renamed "Home Junction" when it became the junction point with the Soldier's Home Branch, a route headi ...
, contingent on the terminus of the first phase of the project. All routes terminate at the
LAX/Metro Transit Center station
LAX/Metro Transit Center station (called the East ITF by LAX and known as Aviation/96th Street during planning) is an under-construction light rail transport hub in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system, located near the intersection of Avi ...
, which is currently under construction as part of the
Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project. This terminus station will offer transfers to the
K Line
is a Japanese transportation company. It owns a fleet that includes dry cargo ships (bulk carriers), container ships, liquefied natural gas carriers, Ro-Ro ships, tankers, and container terminals. It used to be the fourteenth largest contai ...
and LAX Automated People Mover.
Concepts include routing south along Sepulveda Boulevard, Overland Boulevard, Centinela Boulevard, and
I-405, with possible intermediate stops at Venice Boulevard, Culver City Transit Center, the Howard Hughes Center, and Sepulveda Boulevard at Manchester Boulevard. The Sepulveda Boulevard route option would be completed as below-grade
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...
, while the I-405 option could be completed as either a combination of elevated and below-grade
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...
or a combination of elevated and below-grade
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
.
[https://media.metro.net/projects_studies/sfv-405/images/presentation_Sepulveda_HNTB_2019-01.pdf ]
The July 2019 updated concepts released by Metro for phase two added a stop along Santa Monica Boulevard per public popular demand. They added the fifth concept, extending the east/west purple line extension terminus south towards LAX. A one-boarding HRT trip from LAX to Downtown Los Angeles along Centinela Blvd.
All north-to-south routes from the E Line to LAX are:
The following table shows all potential metro stations and the alternatives for which they apply:
Alternative 5's concept for the Westside-LAX phase of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project would extend the
Purple Line subway south down Centinela Ave along the same route as the other proposed Centinela Ave concepts (Alt 2). This concept would provide a one-seat ride from the LAX Automated People Mover to
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
but would require passengers from the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
to transfer at Westwood/UCLA station to travel further south.
The second phase of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project is not due to break ground until 2048.
Advocacy
Transit advocates have proposed combining the
East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit
The East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project (formerly the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor Project) is a transit project which proposes the construction of a light rail line on the east side of Los Angeles's San Fernando Vall ...
Project and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project into a single study to connect
Sylmar
Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past to the 18th century and th ...
,
Van Nuys
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, t ...
, the
Orange Line,
Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
,
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, and the future Westwood/UCLA
D Line station. Metro studies declined the LRT merge option and stated HRT would provide faster times and more occupancy on trains. Future extension phases south to the
E Line,
LAX
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
,
South Bay, or beyond are also being advocated and proposed.
Metro proposed a Centinela Avenue route to LAX or thru Sepulveda Boulevard. No studies have been allocated funds.
Phase One of the project is part of Metro's Twenty-eight by '28 initiative, which aims to complete its list of expansions in time for the
2028 Summer Olympics
The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...
.
Metro is looking into a public/private partnership to accelerate the opening.
Construction
Measure R
Measure R was a ballot measure during the November 2008 elections in Los Angeles County, California, that proposed a half-cent sales taxes increase on each dollar of taxable sales (originating in or made from Los Angeles County) for thirty years ...
and Measure M timelines call for construction to begin in 2043, though the first phase may be accelerated in preparation for the
2028 Summer Olympics
The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...
.
References
Notes
External links
Sepulveda Transit Corridor ProjectEast San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit ProjectMeasure RLA SkyRail Express— monorail planning
{{Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Transportation in Los Angeles
Transportation in the San Fernando Valley
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Los Angeles Metro Rail projects
Public transportation in Los Angeles
Public transportation in Los Angeles County, California
Santa Monica Mountains
Sepulveda Boulevard
Proposed railway lines in California
2028 in rail transport