

As Beverly Hills's very expensive hissy fit continues, Metro is moving forward with early construction activities on the Purple Line subway extension that will bring the current east/west line to Wilshire and La Cienega in its first phase. The community was briefed last night on the status of the project, which is in pre-construction activities that mostly involve utility relocation and testing the gassy soil in the Miracle Mile. As with DTLA's Regional Connector subway, Metro wants to work on the project during rush hour, overnight, and through the winter holiday weeks (good luck getting those permits in BH).

A contractor to build the project will be selected later this year--in its entirety to Westwood, the subway will cost $9 billion $6.3 billion--and construction starts next year. It's unlikely we'll see tunnel-boring machines for a few years if we're reading the construction timeline correctly. Metro's slideshow also indicates the TBM will be dropped at La Brea and start munching eastward to the current subway station at Western Avenue, and west to La Cienega. What's interesting to note is that a second entrance at the Fairfax station, which LACMA will have to pay for, remains unconfirmed. Also, in an effort to establish uniformity and bring down costs, the stations will have similar-looking designs, like the Regional Connector stops.

· Here is the presentation from Thursday night's Purple Line Extension community meeting [The Source]