LOS ANGELES >> In light of vocal opposition to a proposed light rail route on Garfield Avenue, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials have released the alternative Montebello routes to be studied for the proposed line from East Los Angeles to Whittier.

One route would head south on Arizona Avenue to Telegraph Road in Commerce and then link up with Washington Boulevard, ending at PIH Health in Whittier. A second would use Atlantic Boulevard and take it again to Telegraph and Washington. A third option Metro officials also are considering is an underground route on portions of Garfield.

Whittier Mayor Fernando Dutra, whose city has backed a route to Whittier in contrast to a competing alignment that would follow the 60 Freeway and end at Peck Road in South El Monte, said he’s excited about the Arizona and Atlantic alternatives.

“It will increase ridership dramatically and will be looked upon favorably by all of the communities,” he said. “This alignment is designed for what light rail is supposed to do — connect communities. You can imagine the diverse ridership.”

Metro officials said the study of the three new proposals is being done in response to the board’s decision in 2014 for more study and elimination of the Garfield route that would have included 30-feet high train bridges, caused an inordinate amount of disruption and was strongly opposed by residents and merchants.

The board also decided to consider building the route to Whittier and South El Monte from the Gold Line’s southeastern terminus at Atlantic and Pomona boulevards:

So far, Metro staff has no projections about ridership or cost on the three alternatives. Plans are to hold community meetings in March and go to the board in April, said Dave Sotero, Metro spokesman, in an email.

However, officials from Montebello and South El Monte, which have supported the 60 Freeway alignment route, say the new proposals change nothing because Washington Boulevard is still used.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Montebello Councilman Bill Molinari said. “Washington Boulevard is a main east-west route for all those heavy trucking companies. That traffic backs up all the way to Montebello Boulevard. What happens if you narrow it down to one lane?”

Dutra countered the light-rail line will take some traffic off of Washington Boulevard.

South El Monte Councilman Joseph Gonzales, also chairman of the SR-60 Coalition, said he believes the 60 Freeway route remains the most cost-efficient route.

“It’s the least obtrusive,” he said.

The 60 Freeway route would serve about 16,700 riders on weekdays and cost $1.3 billion, according to Metro. It would be 6.9 miles long with four stations.

The Washington Boulevard route – as earlier proposed – would have served an estimated 19,900 passengers per weekday and cost $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion to build, according to Metro. It would be 9.5 miles long with six stations.

Commerce City Administrator Jorge Rifa said his City Council likes the idea of a stop in their city.

“We think the Telegraph Road corridor anchored by the Citadel and the Commerce Casino is a very logical stop for the Gold line,” Rifa said.