After years of planning, receiving feedback through numerous community meetings and seeking approval at board meetings and from local elected officials, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 6.7-mile rail line that will run along Van Nuys Boulevard.
The East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit (ESFV LRT) project, which will connect the Metro G Line busway in Van Nuys to San Fernando Road in Pacoima, will include 11 at-grade light rail stations with shade structures, safer pedestrian crossings and improved roadway designs.
Construction costs are estimated at around $4 billion, with funding expected from various local, state and federal sources, including Measure M, a voter-approved sales tax, and a $893 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Set to be completed by 2032, the project is expected to expand transit access to jobs, schools, health care facilities and local businesses. According to Metro, approximately 19% of households in the Van Nuys corridor don’t have a personal vehicle and are reliant on public transit.
A possible 2.5-mile extension connecting the project from San Fernando Road to the Sylmar Metrolink Station, which would add three more stations, is still being studied by Metro.
The light rail line will be the first local-stop commuter service along the corridor in more than 70 years, since the Pacific Electric streetcar service that connected downtown LA to the San Fernando Valley ended in December 1952.
LA Mayor Karen Bass – joined by other elected officials at the Monday groundbreaking, including Congresswoman Luz Rivas, Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla – referenced those electric streetcars, saying they helped shape the valley.
She added that the light rail will not only shorten commutes; it will also create 18,000 jobs through its construction and operations, benefiting the economy.
“It’s truly a historic project,” Bass said, “and it didn’t happen overnight. It took years of planning, investment and community advocacy. As mayor and chair of the board [of directors for Metro], I am committed to making Metro safer, more affordable and more reliable for every Angeleno, and today represents another step forward in that direction.”
Stephanie Wiggins, Metro CEO, spoke with the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol, saying that Monday’s event was a “momentous occasion” because the project has been in the works for so long. At times, it even encountered resistance when Metro was told it couldn’t build in certain areas.
“Now, decades later, we’re finally able to break ground and know that rail is coming for valley residents, working families, students and seniors, and it will better connect the valley to the rest of LA County,” Wiggins said. “It’s so nice to know that this project, along with other projects, whether it’s the G Line project that’s under construction or the big Sepulveda Transit Corridor project that’ll be coming later, that the valley’s time is now, and this continues the transformation for the valley.”
Other elected officials present at the event gave their remarks. Padilla thanked Wiggins and Metro for not letting the project fall through the cracks, saying this project is a $4 billion investment into neighborhoods that have been told to wait for much-needed improvements year after year.
“Today, that wait ends,” Padilla said. “We’re building a valley where you’re going to have options. … Once the Pacoima Metrolink hub and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor are in place along this line, the valley stops being a place you drive through and becomes a place connected to the whole region. I want to make sure that Van Nuys is a true transit hub.”
Horvath echoed these sentiments, adding that they shouldn’t lose sight of the many businesses that will be impacted during the construction. For those affected, Metro’s Business Interruption Fund (BIF) will provide grants to offset revenue loss.
“We must keep listening to our businesses and helping them weather construction and to thrive afterwards,” Horvath said. “This is about more than laying new tracks. It’s about investing in people, expanding opportunity, improving our regional mobility and delivering on our commitment that this community has helped to advance for generations.”
To apply for the BIF, go to https://www.metro.net/projects/business-interruption-fund-bif/.
