Subway construction is occurring around the clock at the staging yards at Wilshire/La Brea. Crews are building a station at the site along the Purple Line Extension route. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Metro will hold a webinar on Purple Line Extension subway construction in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, Oct. 7, from noon to 1 p.m. The webinar will include updates normally provided during monthly in-person meetings at Beverly Hills City Hall. To listen to the meeting, call (213)279-1001, and use the Conference ID: 909 797 664#. Phone participants will not be able to participate in a live Q&A session during the webinar. To have questions answered, call (213)922-6934, or email purplelineext@metro.net. Allow 24 hours for a response.

To expedite construction in Beverly Hills, Metro is requesting a waiver of the holiday moratorium, which will allow work to continue from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve. No work would occur on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day. If approved by the Beverly Hills City Council, expedited excavation, geotechnical instrumentation and further station construction will occur during the holidays. An application has been submitted to the city requesting a waiver and the request will be considered at a future council meeting at a date to be determined.

Excavation continues through the first quarter of 2021 underneath Wilshire Boulevard at the future Wilshire/Rodeo subway station in Beverly Hills. Wilshire Boulevard has been reduced to two lanes in each direction between Beverly and Canon drives to facilitate the removal of soil, and may be reduced to one lane in each direction at night. Reeves Drive will remain closed during excavation, as well as sidewalks on the west side of Reeves Drive and the south side Wilshire Boulevard between Beverly and Reeves drives.

Station construction, material deliveries, instrumentation and concrete pouring is ongoing at Wilshire/La Cienega. Intermittent lane reductions may be in place. Wilshire Boulevard will be intermittently reduced to two lanes in each direction between Stanley and Gale drives from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. to support material deliveries to the station box. Gale Drive will be intermittently closed at Wilshire Boulevard to support construction activities in the Gale staging yard. Work hours are 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. Access to Gale Drive will be maintained from San Vicente Boulevard. The closure is a public safety measure due to a high volume of vehicles entering and exiting the Gale staging yard.

Eastbound Wilshire Boulevard may also be intermittently reduced to one lane from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. during weekdays and Saturdays, and from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. during off-peak weekday traffic periods.

A K-rail enclosure has been implemented within the center lanes at the intersection of Wilshire/San Vicente. The enclosure is expected to be in place through November and will support ongoing tunnel and mitigation work underneath Wilshire Boulevard. All left turns in the intersection will be restricted. Directional closures will be implemented on weekends.

At Wilshire/Fairfax, station construction, hauling and concrete pouring continues. Wilshire Boulevard will be reduced to two lanes in each direction between San Diego Way and Spaulding Avenue through summer 2021. Ogden Drive will be closed intermittently Monday through Saturday at Wilshire Boulevard. Orange Grove Avenue remains closed south of Wilshire Boulevard. Intermittent lane closures may be in place in the Wilshire/Fairfax station area.

At Wilshire/La Brea, hauling and deliveries for station construction are also ongoing. Through February 2021, Wilshire Boulevard will be reduced to two lanes in each direction between Detroit and June streets, and Orange Drive will be closed north of Wilshire Boulevard, to support the construction of station appendages adjacent to the Wilshire/La Brea station. Daily lane closures supporting station construction will continue through the end of 2020 and Wilshire Boulevard may also intermittently be reduced to a single lane in each direction from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., between Detroit Street and Highland Avenue.

Through Friday, Sept. 25, Sycamore Avenue will be closed 100 feet north of Wilshire Boulevard to support work on a waterline.

Wilshire Boulevard has been reduced to two lanes in each direction between June Street and Muirfield Road. A work zone at Wilshire/Rimpau is expected to be in place until next March and supports concrete pouring underground in the subway tunnels.

Near Wilshire/Western, tunneling support and street maintenance work is also occurring. Work is ongoing 24-hours at a staging yard just west of the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue. Northbound Manhattan Place will be closed intermittently just north of Wilshire Boulevard from 4 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Access to businesses will be maintained. Intermittent single-lane closures may also occur on Wilshire Boulevard between Western Avenue and Manhattan Place as a public safety measure to support ongoing excavation and construction.

For questions and concerns, call the 24-hour project hotline at (213)922-6934, email the project team at purplelineext@metro.net, or visit metro.net.