Over a year after we last checked in, Metro is putting the finishing touches on its $128-million renovation of the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station.
The transit hub, among the busiest in Metro's light rail network, serves as the transfer point between the A (Blue) and C (Green Lines). The capital project, which began construction in mid-2018, includes:
- an expansion of the at-grade A platform to reduce crowding and the addition of a new overhead shade canopy;
- the addition of a new pedestrian crossing and entrance on the south side of the A platform;
- improvements to vertical circulation systems such as elevators, escalators, and stairs between the Blue and Green line platforms;
- consolidation of bus bays;
- new artwork by Jamex, Einar de la Torre, and George Evans;
- a new customer service center, transit security center, bike hub, and public restrooms; and
- an open-air plaza.
Completion is anticipated this summer, according to a staff report submitted in February to the Metro Board of Directors' Construction Committee.
The renovation of Willowbrook/Rosa Park Station follows more than $1 billion that has been invested into repairs to the A Line, which opened between Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach in 1990. Ridership on the 22-mile corridor, long the workhorse of Metro's light rail network, has steadily declined over the past eight years - a phenomenon that has largely been blamed on unreliable service.
The project, originally budgeted at $109 million, recently had its total costs revised upward, according to the the staff report.
- Willowbrook - Rosa Parks Station (Urbanize LA)