Plans for and progress on the Metro Purple (D Line) Extension in Beverly Hills were on the agenda at a construction updates community webinar held by Metro on Wed., Jan. 4, and open to the public via Zoom. After a holiday hiatus, Metro has resumed Purple Line work in the city.
“La Cienega had its final roof pour. As a consequence of that, a lot of the work will be moved inside the arch. We’ll still require some lane reductions along Wilshire Boulevard and we’ll continue to do that as needed,” explained Scott Donohue, a community relations manager for the Purple Line project. “But it’s a big moment and I think you’ll be able to see the final result of it,” he said, referring to slides with photos of the current interior status of the roof and walls of the Wilshire/La Cienega station. “I want to note that this is a huge milestone for the project.”
The meeting continued on to discuss plans for the Wilshire/Rodeo station, which will be located at the intersection of Wilshire and Reeves. Ground improvement, cross-passage, decking removal, street restoration, and station work has resumed, along with utility work, including the installation of permanent power feeds and geotechnical instrumentation, throughout January.
Matt Evans, a project information coordinator, said that construction will be going on 24 hours a day to minimize the impact on residents and traffic, and noted there will be some upcoming closures on Wilshire, Beverly Drive, El Camino, and Crescent, with notifications and flaggers to help with traffic. He then shared a skeleton of the station construction. “We have the majority of our exterior walls and the majority of our interior walls as well, and we have begun making some progress on our concourse level, and have just started with some initial preliminary framework on our roof,” he noted, pointing to photo slides of progress on the concourse level and the interior of the station. Evans said that he hoped to have photos of the initial roofing to share next month.
The meeting continued with the opportunity for the public to submit station naming for the Rodeo/Wilshire station. “If you have ideas of what you think the station should be named in Beverly Hills, please submit them,” said Stephanie Molen, principal community relations officer of the new media team. “We’ll be posting submission information weekly on our social media and we are looking for suggestions.” She encouraged residents to take some time to think critically about the neighborhood’s identity, and the simplicity of a name, in their submissions. “Those things go into consideration in choosing a name, and we’d love for you all to be a part of it.” Molen then highlighted Beverly Hills “Eat, Shop, Play” businesses, the Sixty Hotel and Lazy Daisy.
Following the announcements and progress shared in the Purple Line Extension webinar, City of Beverly Hills Director of Public Works Shana Epstein shared her thoughts with the Courier.
“We work with the Metro team to ensure the Purple Line Extension project continues smoothly, while mitigating the construction impacts to our residents and businesses,” Epstein said. “We look forward to continued coordination and progress with Metro as they work toward completing the Wilshire/ La Cienega Station in late 2024 and the Wilshire/Rodeo Station in 2025.”
