Why it took 65 years for L.A. to build its most important rail line

[marmar]

If a subway would work anywhere in modern Los Angeles, conventional wisdom said, it was along Wilshire Boulevard.

In 1962, California's then-governor, Edmund G. Brown, stood in downtown L.A. in the shadow of a rotary drilling rig to support local officials' plans for a new "Backbone Route" that would stretch west along L.A.'s most bustling thoroughfare to the sea.

"Let's start drilling!" Brown declared, pulling a handle that started drilling the first hole of soil tests for a subway that planners estimated could be built in just three years.

No one back then thought it would take 65 years of political battles, funding struggles and worsening motor traffic for the Wilshire subway to actually open.

This week, Metro is set to unveil the first part of a nine-mile subway under Wilshire, one of the most dynamic and traffic-clogged stretches of Los Angeles. Public transit experts say the $9.7-billion D Line extension, which will connect Koreatown to the Westside, is a landmark achievement in L.A. public transit history. ................(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/news/55376278/ca-why-it-took-65-years-for-la-to-build-its-most-important-rail-line

[ZDU]

1. Celebrate this!

🚊🚄

[enid602]

2. Metro

And don’t forget, $0.35 per ride reduced fares for seniors every day with special Tap cards obtained through Metro. I’ll never drive there again. Good for buses, subway, light rail, BRT.