Metro has released its final environmental impact report for the planned extension of the C Line from Redondo Beach to Torrance, once again affirming a "hybrid" alternative as the preferred option.

“This project represents a major step forward for the South Bay and for the entire Metro system,” said Metro board chair and Whittier City Councilmember Fernando Dutra in a news release. “By extending rail service to Torrance, we are giving more Angelenos access to good jobs, faster commutes and cleaner air. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with our community partners to ensure that this project best serves the needs of the community now and for generations to come.”

The extension would run 4.5 miles south from the C Line's current terminus above Inglewood Boulevard in Redondo Beach toward new stops the near the South Bay Galleria and the Torrance Transit Center, has approximately $890 million in local dedicated tax revenues under the Measure M expenditure plan. The hybrid alternative supported by the Metro board would run within the Metro-owned Harbor Subdivision right-of-way, a historic freight-rail line which cuts a diagonal swath through the South Bay. This option would include a mix of elevated, at-grade, and trenched tracks, with intersections at 170th and 182nd Street separated from cross traffic.

Metro C Line extension's hybrid alternativeMetro

Metro officials had also considered an option to build an elevated route within the median of Hawthorne Boulevard, but ultimately dismissed that alternative due to cost. The Hawthorne alignment carried an estimated price tag of $2.9 billion in 2022, while the hybrid alternative was estimated to cost $2.2 billion. Both options exceed the $891 million in identified local funding, meaning that additional money must be identified to build the project.

Besides construction of a passenger rail infrastructure, the project also calls for realigning and rebuilding existing freight rail tracks within the corridor and potentially the construction of a multi-use path within the same right-of-way. 

Construction of the C Line extension could commence as early as 2027 and be completed by 2036, at which point Metro expects that the line would generate more than 11,500 daily trips. 

Although the project name reflects the C Line, formerly the Green Line, which has long connected the South Bay with Norwalk over 20 miles east, the completed extension will operate as part of the K Line running northbound to LAX, Inglewood, and Leimert Park, with a connection to the E Line in Jefferson Park. Future extensions would allow trains to run as far as Hollywood.

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