Preconstruction activities have been for well over one year already, but today Metro made it official: the second phase of the Purple Line extension between Beverly Hills and Century City is now under construction.

The latest phase of the heavy rail subway will run approximately 2.6 miles, with stations located at Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and at Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars in the heart of Century City. Construction is already 30 percent complete the first phase of the project, which will extend service 3.9 miles from the Purple Line's current Wilshire/Western terminus to new stations at Wilshire/LaBrea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega.

The $2.53-billion cost of the second phase is being covered by county sales tax proceeds from Measures R and M, as well as $1.6 billion from a federal grant and loan.

The Purple Line extension's third and final phase, which has yet to receive funding, would push service another 2.6 miles west towards stations in Westwood and a terminus at the Veterans Administration Campus.

Completion of the full project is anticipated by 2026, two years prior to the 2028 Summer Olympics. The extension is expected to generate nearly 50,000 new weekday boardings at its seven stations, as well as 78,000 new daily trips overall on the Metro Rail system. The end-to-end travel time between Union Station and Westwood is expected to be 25 minutes, with service every four minutes during peak hours and every 10 minutes during off-peak hours.

At the other end of the Purple Line, Metro is expanding Downtown's Division 20 rail yard in order to accommodate a new turnback facility and additional train storage. This separate but related project could eventually facilitate an eastward extension of Red and Purple Line service to a new station at 6th Street in the Arts District.

Although construction for the project is already long underway, the Purple Line extension continues to see opposition from the Beverly Hills School District, which has repeatedly sued to delay or halt its progress. The approved phase two route will run directly below Beverly Hills High School.