Metro Begins Construction On New Valley Rail Line With 11 Stations

LOS ANGELES, CA — Construction broke ground Monday on a nearly $4 billion light rail project that will bring passenger trains back to Van Nuys Boulevard for the first time in more than 70 years.

Metro broke ground Monday on the 6.7-mile East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, which will include 11 stations serving Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta and Pacoima.

The project will be the first rail service along Van Nuys Boulevard since 1952, when Pacific Electric streetcars stopped operating along the corridor.

Metro says the project will be complete in 2032.

The new rail line will run along the center of Van Nuys Boulevard and include 11 stations, about three-quarters of a mile apart: the Van Nuys G Line, Victory, Vanowen, Sherman Way, Van Nuys Metrolink, Roscoe, Nordhoff, Woodman, Arleta, Laurel Canyon and San Fernando.

The light rail line will also offer connections to the planned Sepulveda Transit Corridor rail project — which will connect the Valley to the Westside through the Sepulveda Pass — and a future Metrolink station in Pacoima.

The project also includes new sidewalks, shade structures, safer pedestrian crossings and roadway improvements designed to make the corridor more accessible.

According to Metro, about 19% of households along the planned route do not have access to a personal vehicle, compared with 8% across Los Angeles County as a whole.

Van Nuys Boulevard is already served by two heavily used Metro bus routes, Lines 233 and 761, which recorded nearly 20,000 combined boardings in September.

Metro officials estimate the project will generate more than 18,000 direct and indirect jobs through construction and operations. The agency also plans to provide financial assistance to small businesses affected by construction through its Business Interruption Fund.

The nearly $4 billion project is being funded through federal, state and local sources, including Measure M, the transportation sales tax approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2016.

Metro also secured an $893 million federal grant through a program designed to accelerate major transit construction projects.

The project is part of a broader effort to improve transportation throughout the San Fernando Valley, including upgrades to the Metro G Line and bus service improvements along Roscoe Boulevard and Nordhoff Street.

A rail maintenance and storage facility will be built in Van Nuys, west of Van Nuys Boulevard, between Keswick Street, Raymer Street and the Pacoima Wash.

City News Service contributed to this report.