As construction for multiple Metro D-Line subway stations continues, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is maintaining transparency with the community through a series of project update meetings. On Sept. 18, Metro held an in-person meeting at the City Hall Municipal Gallery, where representatives outlined the current construction. The project is expected to be complete in 2026 and will provide transportation from Downtown L.A. to the Westside for both daily commuters and travelers from around the world as they come to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics.
At the meeting, Eric Davidian, a community relations representative, provided an update on the Wilshire-Rodeo station, which falls under section 2 of the D-Line Subway Extension Project along with a station in Century City. This station will be underground from Canon Drive to Beverly Drive along Wilshire Boulevard, with an entrance portal on Reeves Drive. Construction is still ongoing at the Wilshire-Rodeo station and will continue through 2026, but as of September 2024, the station’s roof, acoustical ceiling and paint are nearing completion. The construction is still causing a full closure of Canon Drive, about 150 feet south of Wilshire Boulevard for a deck removal and street restoration project. This is a 24/7 street closure while construction takes place between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily, and 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly, and should run through November.
“To ensure transparency with all the businesses in the areas that are impacted with this work activity, we will be sure to have coordination with them to allow them the grace of knowing that we are letting them know beforehand of the work activity that will be taking place in their areas,” said Davidian. While this street is closed, businesses that have been directly affected by construction and were forced to close for the remainder of the project are eligible to receive grants through Metro’s Business Interruption Fund (BIF), as long as the closures are not related to COVID-19.
At the meeting, Mindy Lake, principal community relations officer, gave a presentation on the program. The BIF was created almost ten years ago and was intended to provide support to mom-and-pop businesses with 25 or fewer employees. It’s now a permanent program that has awarded nearly $43 million in grants. In Beverly Hills, $8,020,200 has already been awarded to eligible businesses. For section 1 of the D-Line extension project, Metro has awarded $10,585,142 between parts of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, and for section 2 of the project, Metro has already awarded $5,482,133 between Beverly Hills and Century City.
Additionally, Metro’s Eat, Shop, Play initiative promotes businesses that are in construction zones through advertising and information. This program has been in place since 2014. At the meeting, Lake featured Boss Sushi at 270 La Cienega Blvd. and Fatamorgana Gelato at 162 Beverly Drive. She also urged those who have not yet been awarded grants and would like to learn more about Metro’s programs for businesses affected by construction to contact the BIF department at metro.net/bif.
In his presentation, Davidian also explained that there are a number of abandoned wells in the city that require backfills before Metro can complete construction. These are old dewatering wells that are no longer in use and have therefore been deemed abandoned. Construction teams are currently removing dewatering infrastructure and filling the abandoned wells along all of the cross passages, which are smaller tunnels that connect the main subway tunnels. This process takes between 2-3 weeks at each cross passage, because once the wells are filled, the street needs to be restored. Throughout the next month, construction teams will be filling the majority of the wells between cross passages 40 and 29.
As Metro continues to move through this process, they will provide project updates at a virtual meeting on Oct. 9, at 12 p.m.
