Crews Break Ground On $900M Project To Connect LAX To Metro Light Rail
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A groundbreaking ceremony took place Monday morning on a new light rail station that will eventually connect Los Angeles International Airport to the L.A. Metro transit system, allowing fliers to take the train directly to and from LAX.
The $898.6 million Airport Metro Connector (AMC) project will serve as the ninth station on the Crenshaw/LAX Line, which is also still under construction.
When it is complete, it will connect Metro light rail to LAX's Automated People Mover. The AMC project is slated to be complete by 2024, while the people mover is set to be finished by 2023.
"Angelenos have literally been waiting for this their entire lives," L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news briefing. "When I ran for mayor, I could be in any part of the city, with frequent fliers or people who hadn't ever been on a plane, but maybe had to pick up a relative, and I'll tell you, the biggest applause line was always, 'we're gonna bring public transportation to LAX.'"
The AMC station, located at Aviation Boulevard and 96th Street, will include train platforms, a 16-bay bus plaza, a bike hub, a vehicle drop-off zone and access to the people mover.
The project is funded partly through the sales tax raised by Measure R, a ballot measure passed in November 2008, and Measure M, a ballot measure passed in November 2016, Garcetti said.
"This is one of many projects that Measure M -- the largest transportation initiative at the local level in American history times two -- is doing throughout our county, including 15 transit lines that are either extending or building new, including the Crenshaw/LAX Line that will connect here and that will open very soon," Garcetti said.
He added that the Metro Airport Connector project is one of 28 projects that the city is fast-tracking to be open by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The people mover will be a 2.25-mile elevated train system which will have three stations inside the Central Terminal Area and another three outside of it.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
