The street restoration work will begin on Sept. 9 between Ogden Drive and Fairfax Avenue. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning a major street restoration project at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue this fall and announced the first details during a virtual meeting on July 26.

The street restoration is part of the Purple Line Extension subway project and will occur along Wilshire Boulevard around the future Wilshire/Fairfax subway station. It will require full closures of Wilshire Boulevard from 9 p.m. on Friday to 6 a.m. on Monday from Sept. 9-Dec. 19.

“We just have to live with it,” said Stephen Kramer, president of the Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce. “They have been pretty accurate with their timeline estimates, so hopefully that continues. If people want to go to the museums, they can park in the LACMA garage off Sixth Street, or at the Petersen off Eighth Street. I think the impact to businesses will be minimal. It’s disruptive, but we’ll have to live with it.”

Greg Goldin, president of the Miracle Mile Residential Association, offered a similar assessment, but added that he expects more traffic on Eighth Street.

“It’s definitely on our radar. We have been following the subway construction in all of its various phases,” Goldin said. “It’s very hard to predict what the impacts might be. When they did it down at La Brea, there were no reports, from what we saw, of unbearable disruptions, and we didn’t see a major spill-over of traffic. We just don’t know.”

The actual work is anticipated to take 13 weekends, but the 15-week schedule accounts for stoppages on the Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving holiday weekends. The work will likely impact traffic and motorists are advised to plan ahead when traveling in the area.

Temporary concrete decking that created a roadway above the underground station will be removed and replaced with a permanent asphalt surface. The restoration signals that work is moving toward the final stages at the Wilshire/Fairfax station. Phase one of the Purple Line Extension project between Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/La Cienega is anticipated to open in 2024.

Metro and Skanska Traylor Shea, the contractor building phase one of the Purple Line, are hopeful the street restoration project can be completed sooner than planned.

Scott Donahue, community relations coordinator with Skanska Traylor Shea, said the street restoration project at Wilshire/Fairfax will occur in three phases between Ogden Drive and San Diego Way. For the first seven weekends from Sept. 9-Oct. 24, crews will restore sections of Wilshire Boulevard between Ogden Drive and Fairfax Avenue. That area fronts the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Academy Museum and the Petersen Automotive Museum, which will all remain open during the project, Donahue said. The new Wilshire/Fairfax subway station will be located one block east of the Petersen Automotive Museum on the south side of Wilshire Boulevard, with the station entrance/exit at Orange Grove Avenue, Donahue added.

The planned detour for the first seven weekends is along Sixth Street. Drivers can use Fairfax and La Brea avenues to access Sixth Street.

The second phase of work will occur on the weekends of Oct. 28-31, and Nov. 4-7, in the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. Donahue said the detour for that phase of work is more complex, utilizing Olympic Boulevard to the south and Sixth Street to the north. Drivers are advised to access those streets from La Cienega and San Vicente boulevards to the west, and La Brea Avenue to the east.

The final phase will occur over four weekends between Nov. 18-Dec. 19 on Wilshire Boulevard between Fairfax Avenue and San Diego Way. Traffic during that phase will be detoured to Olympic Boulevard via La Cienega and San Vicente boulevards and Fairfax Avenue.

Donahue said the noisiest work will occur during the day. Additional trucks will be in the area delivering and removing material. The asphalt repaving will occur in large sections on select dates to be determined to ensure a smooth surface between sections of the roadway, he added.

Donahue said the project is not anticipated to impact motorists’ ability to reach the museums along Wilshire Boulevard, as access to parking for the Academy Museum and LACMA is on Sixth Street, and access to the Petersen Automotive Museum’s garage is from Fairfax Avenue near Eighth Street. He said some drop-off and pick-up space on Wilshire Boulevard may be temporarily eliminated during the work, and plans are being formulated to provide alternative space.

A representative of the Academy Museum said administrators will look into how the street project will affect the museum and will have a plan before work starts. LACMA and the Petersen Automotive Museum did not provide a comment on the project before press time.

Donahue said Skanska Traylor Shea and Metro will conduct door-to-door outreach with residents, business owners and property owners in the area surrounding the upcoming project. For those who missed the July 26 briefing, another virtual meeting will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 6 p.m., via Zoom. To participate, visit zoom.us/j/96626476708 and use the meeting ID 966 2647 6708. Additional meetings will be held one month prior to work starting, and construction notices will be issued to the surrounding area. Additional notices will be issued a week before the project begins. Electronic messaging boards will also be placed along the roadway a week in advance to warn motorists about the weekend closures.

Anyone seeking information is urged to call the project hotline at (213)922-6934, or email purplelineext@metro.net.