NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CNS) — Transit riders will no longer have to rush across a busy intersection in North Hollywood to connect between the Metro Red and Orange lines, thanks to a new pedestrian tunnel between the two stations.
The $22 million tunnel will shave four to five minutes off the transfer between the subway and bus line, eliminating the need for passengers to wait on traffic lights on Lankershim Boulevard near Chandler Boulevard, according to Metro.
“Metro’s new tunnel reduces the main point of conflict between high- volume vehicular trafic and transit riders, cuts their travel times and adds capacity to our bus Red and Orange Line stations,” said Duarte City Councilman John Fasana, chairman of the Metro Board of Directors, on Monday, Aug. 15. “Metro has built an extremely robust facility that will position these stations to better accommodate the San Fernando Valley’s growing demands for transit in the coming years.”
The 150-foot tunnel took two years to build. The project also includes a new plaza area at the Orange Line station and new fare gates at the Red Line station.
The Orange and Red Lines are among Metro’s most heavily traveled routes.
In June, an average of 23,419 people rode the Orange Line busway each weekday. There were about 147,000 daily boardings on the Red/Purple rail lines, which share several subway stations in the downtown area.
According to Metro, the U.S. Department of Transportation contributed $10 million toward the $22 million tunnel project.