The tunneling machine on the right reached the Wilshire/Fairfax subway station site on May 21. The other machine reached the site on April 4. (photo courtesy of Metro)

Twin tunneling machines for the Purple Line Extension subway project have reached the future Wilshire/Fairfax subway station, near the La Brea Tar Pits in the Miracle Mile.

Tunneling is complete for the first three miles of the initial phase of the project between Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/La Cienega. The four-mile initial phase is expected to open in 2023. 

The 1,000-ton, 400-foot-long tunnel boring machines began tunneling westward at the Wilshire/La Brea station last October. The machines are given names as part of a longstanding tradition among construction crews. The first tunnel boring machine, named “Elsie,” broke through at Wilshire/Fairfax on April 4. The second, named “Soyeon,” broke through on May 21. The tunneling machines previously excavated the segment of the project between Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/La Brea.

Reaching the Wilshire/Fairfax station is a significant accomplishment for Metro, spokesman Dave Sotero said. The underground soil conditions in the area represent some of the most challenging for the entire project. The modern, high-tech tunneling machines have traveled through unique soils and geologic conditions, including tar sands and methane gas pockets.

The breakthrough also marks another milestone in the decades-long effort to extend the subway system farther west underneath Wilshire Boulevard, one of the busiest and most congested urban thoroughfares in the United States.

“This has been an enormously complex operation that Metro and its contractor Skanska Traylor Shea have successfully conducted,” Metro Board Chair and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts said. “When this project is ultimately completed, we will have fast, frequent and reliable subway service connecting downtown L.A. and West L.A. in just 25 minutes. That will be a game-changer for all of L.A. County.”

The tunneling machines were originally lowered into the ground at Wilshire/La Brea in October 2018. They advance approximately 60 feet per day. The machines excavate five days per week, 20 hours a day.

Metro’s tunneling machines are pressurized, closed-faced machines that minimize ground settlement during excavation. After the machine passes, the tunnel is lined with precast concrete segments that are bolted together to form a ring.

When tunneling is finished along the entire project section, the tunneling machines will have excavated nearly a half-million cubic yards of earth.

“We are proving once again that we can successfully mine through some of the most challenging conditions that any subway project in the world is likely to face,” Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington said. “We have a world-class project team that has extensive tunneling expertise. We are well on our way to delivering this vitally important transit project to taxpayers.”

The tunneling machines will next head farther west to the final station along the initial phase of the project at Wilshire/La Cienega. They are expected to reach that site this fall.

For information, visit metro.net/purplelineext.