At its monthly “Lunch with Us” webinar on July 7, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) provided updates on the Purple Line Extension subway project. On Tuesday, with tunnelling work completed for section one of the Purple Line, Metro crews began removing and disassembling the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) from the Wilshire/La Cienega Station. Due to the size of the TBM’s, the removal process is estimated to continue for about three months, with the full closure of North Gale Drive at Wilshire Boulevard in place from 6 a.m. until midnight on weekdays and weekends. Left turns will also be restricted from Wilshire onto Gale.
“We are completed with excavation, and we’re just beginning with our station structure,” Yvette Ximenez, a project manager with Metro, said regarding the Wilshire/Rodeo station. “We’re on track to open the station in 2025.” Much of the construction is being done at the entrance of the station, located at South Reeves Drive and Wilshire Boulevard, where contractors are working below ground seven days a week.
