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.

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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.