Lane reductions will be in place on Wilshire Boulevard between Detroit and June streets to facilitate construction at the Wilshire/La Brea subway station. (photo by Edwin Folven)

No Purple Line Extension subway work will occur on New Year’s Day, and subway work will also be temporarily suspended in the city of Beverly Hills on New Year’s Eve.

New work has been announced at the western end of the project in Century City, where a temporary full closure of Constellation Boulevard west of Avenue of the Stars will be implemented as early as Jan. 8. The closure will enable crews to complete piling and decking during light traffic conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The full closure will remain in place 24 hours through April 4. Vehicles will not be permitted onto Constellation Boulevard west of Avenue of the Stars to Solar Way.

A partial lane closure of Constellation Boulevard east of Avenue of the Stars will also be implemented on weekdays from early January through April 4 to facilitate construction. The Century Park driveway will remain open only on weekdays and the road will be fully closed to traffic each weekend from 8 p.m. on Friday through 6 a.m. on Monday.

Preparations also continue in Century City for the launch of twin tunnel boring machines that will tunnel under Beverly Hills for approximately two years before meeting with the first section of the subway near Wilshire/La Cienega. The road closures will be in place at least through Feb. 23 while preparations continue on the tunneling machines.

In Beverly Hills, crews have reached an average of 80 feet on the way to a final depth of 100 feet at the future Wilshire/Rodeo station. Preparations have begun for station construction after excavation concludes in early 2021. New hauling hours for removing soil have been announced. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., two lanes will be open in each direction on Wilshire Boulevard between El Camino and Crescent Drive to accommodate soil removal from the Reeves staging yard. From 10 p.m. to 10 a.m., Wilshire Boulevard will be reduced to one lane in each direction between El Camino and Crescent drives, when excavation will occur through deck openings along Wilshire Boulevard at Canon Dive, and just west of Beverly Drive.

Ongoing ground monitoring is also occurring in Beverly Hills along the tunnel alignment and around the Wilshire/Rodeo station. New work hours are weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for work on Wilshire Boulevard, and weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the neighborhoods surrounding Wilshire Boulevard.

At Wilshire/La Cienega, station construction, material deliveries, instrumentation and concrete pouring continue. Ongoing concrete and material deliveries to the Wilshire/La Cienega station box are anticipated to continue this week. Eastbound Wilshire Boulevard may be intermittently reduced to one lane between La Cienega Boulevard and Gale Drive. Westbound Wilshire Boulevard may be reduced to two lanes between Gale and Hamilton drive. The lane reductions will generally occur two to three times per week.

Gale Drive will be intermittently closed at Wilshire Boulevard to support construction in the Gale staging yard. Work hours are 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Access to Gale Drive will be maintained from San Vicente Boulevard.

A K-rail enclosure in the center lanes at Wilshire/San Vicente is anticipated to be in place through at least the first two weeks of the new year to support ongoing tunnel and mitigation work underneath Wilshire Boulevard. Southbound San Vicente Boulevard may be closed at Wilshire Boulevard on weekends beginning Jan. 9. One lane from southbound San Vicente to westbound Wilshire Boulevard will be open. A detour will be in place.

Near Wilshire/Fairfax, station construction, hauling and concrete pouring are ongoing. Wilshire Boulevard will be reduced to two lanes in each direction between San Diego Way and Spaulding Avenue through next August. Intermittent lane closures may be in place to support deck panel maintenance and investigation. Anticipated work hours are 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., Monday through Friday.

A K-rail work zone has been installed at the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue to support work on appendages to the main subway tunnels. Ogden Drive will be closed intermittently Monday through Saturday at Wilshire Boulevard. Orange Grove Avenue remains closed south of Wilshire Boulevard until January 2022. 

Hauling, deliveries and tunneling support are ongoing in construction staging yards at Wilshire/La Brea, and from a K-rail enclosure at Wilshire Boulevard and Orange Drive. 

Through Feb. 27, Wilshire Boulevard will be reduced to two lanes in each direction between Detroit and June streets, and Orange Drive will remain closed north of Wilshire Boulevard. Intermittent lane closures on Wilshire Boulevard and side streets between Highland Avenue and Detroit Street may be in place to support construction from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

A work zone on the west side of the intersection of Wilshire and Rimpau boulevards is anticipated to be in place through next May. Wilshire Boulevard has been reduced to two lanes in each direction between June Street and Muirfield Road. Concrete and material deliveries are anticipated to continue at the site.

A K-rail enclosure at Wilshire and Plymouth boulevards will be in place for approximately one year. Wilshire Boulevard will be reduced to two lanes in each direction between Windsor and Plymouth boulevards. Work will occur 24 hours in the enclosure.

Near the Purple Line’s current terminus at Wilshire/Western, tunneling support and construction continue in a staging yard at Wilshire Boulevard and Manhattan Place. Northbound Manhattan Place will be intermittently closed just north of Wilshire Boulevard from 4 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday. Intermittent single lane closures on Wilshire Boulevard may be necessary between Western Avenue and Manhattan Place. Access to businesses will be maintained and a signed pedestrian detour has been installed.

Metro will hold a webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 13, from noon to 1 p.m., via Zoom, with updates on sections one and two of the project. To join, call (888)788-0099, and use the ID: 955 7708 4809.

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.