The Los Angeles Metro approved five teams to compete for a bid to develop a transit project connecting the San Fernando Valley with the Westside.

Metro introduced the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project in 2018 and expects to complete the first phase of the project between 2033 and 2035. A second phase will eventually extend the project from the Westside to Los Angeles International Airport.

Metro examined four concepts for the transit project, including a monorail or light rail. Metro has also considered building a station at UCLA and received a request by UCLA to run the project underground.

ACS Infrastructure Development, LA SkyRail Express, Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners (Bechtel), Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners (Fengate) and Tutor Perini, Parsons & Plenary each applied for and qualified to enter a predevelopment agreement proposal with Metro to aid with project design.

The selection of the five teams concludes the first part of the Metro’s Request for Proposals process. In the next phase, these teams will also have the opportunity to enter an implementation agreement, meaning the team will be responsible for constructing the STC Project.

The STC Project will receive partial funding from Measure M, a Los Angeles sales tax implemented in 2016 to provide revenue for transportation projects. Including other local, state and federal monetary sources, the STC Project will receive a total of $9.5 billion in funding, although project updates have introduced higher estimated costs.

Metro hopes to accelerate the project to finish the first phase before the Olympics in 2028, as part of the Twenty-Eight by ’28 initiative, which provides additional resources to 28 Metro projects planned to be completed by the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.