Though they still do not have a firm date as to when the decking process will begin, Metro and construction officials said last week to expect the weekend road closures to start in June as they updated the community on the Purple Line Extension.

Construction on the Purple Line Extension continues at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Sycamore Avenue. Metro will have a better idea of when the full closures will begin at the end of the week.
(photo by Gregory Cornfield)

Officials explained that the mitigation plans to start the closures on June 10 will be considered by the Los Angeles Board of Public Works on Friday, May 27. Kasey Shuda, construction relations manager for the project, said Metro will give at least a two-week notice before they start the process.

The closures are necessary so that crews can conduct the decking process for the La Brea Avenue Station on the first section of the extension. The first section of the extension is four miles long and will also include stations at Fairfax Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard. The first segment is expected to open in 2024.

Officials began the meeting by apologizing for several construction machines that traveled down Detroit Street recently – where those vehicles are prohibited – and they encouraged community members to continue reporting any Purple Line construction activity or machinery on residential roads.

“We are doubling our efforts to keep the construction traffic in check to make sure this doesn’t happen again, and to keep the construction traffic off of Detroit Street in particular, and in other neighborhoods throughout the alignment,” said Mike Aparicio, a Skanska executive with the joint design builder team, Skanska-Traylor-Shea. “We take this very seriously.”

Aparicio also addressed project policies for local streets at the community meeting at John Burroughs Middle School. He explained that no hauling and no construction vehicles are allowed on residential streets. To enforce the policies, Aparicio said they will impose penalties and fines companies and employees that violate policies. He said signs have also been posted in the construction staging yards and on local streets, and flaggers will monitor the boundaries as well.

Construction on the staging yard at La Brea Avenue will continue on both sides of Wilshire each day between 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The existing Purple Line will tie-in at the Western Avenue station, where fencing and signage have been placed. Sound wall construction is anticipated to begin there in early July.

Piling work on Wilshire Boulevard will continue until the fall. Weekend directional closures for piling on the south side of Wilshire start at 9 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday, including closures of southbound La Brea, northbound La Brea and eastbound Wilshire. Work includes potholing, pre-trenching, piling and jet grouting. Traffic officers will facilitate traffic. Detours include Highland Avenue, Fairfax Avenue, Sixth Street and Eighth Street.

The appendage piles will also require closures on La Brea, Sycamore Avenue and Orange Drive. Those roads will be closed to through traffic at Wilshire intermittently.

Then the decking – creating a roof above construction of the subway which will also act as a bridge for vehicles on Wilshire – will begin in June causing 22 weekends of complete closures in the corridor. Metro officials said the roads will not be closed on Fourth of July or Labor Day weekends.

The closures will begin on Fridays, when Wilshire will be reduced to one lane in each direction, which will allow the design builder to start the “loudest work.” At 8 p.m. on Fridays, the full closure will begin. Crews will work nonstop during the closures until the roads reopen at 6 a.m. on Monday.

The work will come in three phases. The first is from Cloverdale Avenue to La Brea. The detour will take westbound drivers north on La Brea to Sixth Street and south on Fairfax Avenue, and vice versa for eastbound traffic. Local access will be maintained for residents on Detroit Street via Carling Way at Sixth Street.

The second phase will be at the Wilshire-La Brea intersection. Westbound traffic will be directed north on Highland Avenue to westbound Sixth Street and south on Fairfax Avenue, and vice versa for eastbound traffic. Traffic headed south on La Brea will be directed west on Third Street and south on Fairfax Avenue to eastbound San Vicente Boulevard. Northbound La Brea traffic will be directed west on Olympic Boulevard to northbound Fairfax Avenue to eastbound Third Street.

For the third phase, from La Brea to Highland Avenue, eastbound Wilshire traffic will head north on La Brea, east on Sixth Street to southbound Highland, and vice versa.

(courtesy of Metro)

Station excavation will begin this summer. Station construction is estimated to continue from the middle of 2017 to late 2022. Tunneling will start in 2018.

The same process will continue for the station at Fairfax. Piling will begin there later this year with decking expected to begin in 2017.

Michael Coretz, with Metro’s construction relations, explained a new incentive program, Fortune Fridays. Shoppers who stop by one of the participating businesses on Fridays and post #EastShopPlay and #Wilshire on social media will have a chance to win $50.

Shuda also explained more about the Business Interruption Fund. Businesses directly impacted by construction that have been operating for two years and meet all requirements are eligible to receive funds to help with lost business.

The next business interruption fund workshop will be at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 29 at the conference room on the first floor at Breathe LA, located at 5858 Wilshire Blvd.

Steve Kramer, president of the Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce, said he has been hearing some concerns that the construction will disrupt business, but he stressed that it comes with the benefits the stations will provide when they open.

“There’s no gain without some pain,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to using the subway after driving to and from downtown twice in one day on Tuesday.

He commended Metro for their extensive community outreach efforts, from social media announcements to staff walking door-to-door to alert neighbors of closures. He said they have been noticeably proactive in reaching out.

Shuda also encouraged community members to send ideas and thoughts for the arts features in the Metro stations.

“Metro is going to be going out to the artists in the community and asking artists to do the artwork in the stations,” she said. “There will be art on glass at the street level, and as you go down into the mezzanine there will be artwork. There will be artwork on the mezzanine level and even when you’re waiting for the train there will be art tiles printed. When we select these artists, they are asked to use community resources to create that art. So we ask you, the community, to give us that information to pass on to the artists. We want the artists to know what you feel the community represents so they can interpret it.”

The next community meeting on the Purple Line Extension will be Thursday, June 21 at the Petersen Automotive Museum at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax Avenue. Officials will give updates on all the specifics and provide more information on the art feature selection.

The city of Los Angeles Board of Public Works will review the temporary decking system for the Wilshire/La Brea Station at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 27 at Edward R. Roybal BPW Session Room, Room 350 at City Hall, located at 200 N. Spring St.

To view Metro’s powerpoint presentation, visit media.metro.net/projects_studies/westside/images/presentation_purpleline_2016-0519.pdf. For detours and stop locations for for buses 720, 20, 212, 312, visit metro.net/projects/westside/.