Phil Washington Announces Metro’s “Operation Shovel Ready” Initiative

Does Phil Washington know something we don’t?

Well, I am sure he knows a lot of things I don’t know about. In any case, last week CEO Phil Washington announced Metro’s “Operation Shovel Ready.” According to the January 27 board communication [PDF], this initiative will bring “projects to a ‘shovel-ready’ state” to allow Metro “to take advantage of potential opportunities that may develop.” Getting these projects from the preliminary plan stage to the ready-to-build stage “does not necessarily mean that they will all move into the construction stage” but if there is another, perhaps, federal stimulus package, it’s good to have ready-to-go projects lying around just in case. Perhaps Washington is anticipating that a new president or an ambitious governor could again turn to transportation investments to stimulate the economy. We’ll see.

The initiative includes two project lists. The first is transit projects, which is predominantly rail, but also includes some Bus Rapid Transit and bikeway projects. There is also, unfortunately, a long list of highway projects, mostly widening existing freeways and interchanges. Projects are broken out based on whether they have some measure R funding or not.

Many of these projects will be familiar to transportation watchers; some of them will require quite a bit of work, including environmental clearance, which could take several years.

The full Operation Shovel Ready project lists appear after the jump.

TRANSIT PROJECTS (map at top of post)

Measure R funded (in part)

Non-Measure R

H – Vermont Avenue Bus Rapid Transit

I – North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit

J – Crenshaw Northern Extension

K – Orange Line Improvements

L – Green Line Extension to Norwalk Metrolink Station (L.A. Times)

M – Red/Purple Line Improvements

N – Rail to River Active Transportation Corridor (SBLA)

O – San Gabriel Valley Regional Greenway Network

P – L.A. River Bike Path

HIGHWAY PROJECTS

Measure R projects

A – 710 Freeway soundwalls

B – 710 Freeway interchanges improvements

C – 605 Freeway corridor arterial intersection improvements

D – 138 Freeway widening

E – 405 Freeway Crenshaw Boulevard ramp improvements

F – 138 Freeway local interchange improvements

G – 110 Freeway southbound auxiliary lane

H – 605 Freeway / 91 Freeway interchange improvements – westbound 91 Freeway widening

I – 605 Freeway / 60 Freeway interchange improvements

J – 605 Freeway / 5 Freeway interchange improvements

K – 710 Freeway / 91 Freeway interchange improvements

L – 5 Freeway HOV/HOT lanes

Non-Measure R projects