Los Angeles’ $668 million G Line busway overhaul broke ground on March 28, according to a news release from Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the project owner.
The project is expected to improve end-to-end trip times by at least 12 minutes, or 22%, on the G Line bus rapid transit route, which runs within a dedicated corridor through the San Fernando Valley, according to LA Metro.
The agency picked Valley Transit Partners — a joint venture composed of Alameda, California-based Stacy and Witbeck; Benicia, California-headquartered Flatiron West; and Modern Railway Systems of Littleton, Colorado — to deliver the project via a progressive design-build delivery model, per the project website.
LA Metro said the upgrades will create five-minute bus headways and eliminate the potential for motorist intrusions onto the busway, thereby improving safety for all road users. It is funded in part by the agency’s 2016 Measure M and Prop C voter-approved sales taxes, as well as SB-1, the state’s gas tax and vehicle fee transportation funding program, according to Mass Transit magazine.
“These are the most significant improvements Metro has made to this line in its nearly 20-year history,” said Janice Hahn, L.A. County supervisor and Metro board chair, in the release. “This work will make the G Line faster and safer in the short-term and brings us a step closer to our ultimate goal of converting the line to light rail.”
Crews will build new grade separations as well as railroad-style gated intersections and updated traffic signals for at-grade crossings, according to the project website, as well as three bridges at Van Nuys Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard and Vesper Avenue.
Work also entails demolition of the existing Van Nuys Station to make way for a new aerial station. Construction work started at the G Line Van Nuys Station on Feb. 21, according to LA Metro.
The project is expected to be complete in 2027 ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic games.
In the coming years, the agency said it expects to build several other transit projects in the area, including the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, the North San Fernando Transit Corridor Project, the North Hollywood to Pasadena Transit Corridor Project and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project.