Topline:
A section of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills will be closed to traffic for three weeks starting Monday to allow for work on the D Line extension project.
Why now? To allow for underground work on the second section of the D Line extension project, L.A. Metro added temporary road surfaces to Wilshire in 2020. Now the transit agency is ready to restore the road surface and needs to reroute traffic to do so.
18 weekends to three weeks: The work was initially going to be completed over 18 weekends. An agreement between L.A. Metro and the city of Beverly Hills modified the schedule, resulting in the three-week closure that’s going to last until April 7.
A section of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills will be closed to traffic for three weeks starting Monday to allow for work on the D Line extension project.
The closure between Crescent Drive and El Camino Drive will last until April 7.
In 2020, temporary concrete road surfaces — also called decks — were installed along Wilshire so crews could begin underground construction work. Now, L.A. Metro is ready to restore the original road and water lines.
Initially the restoration work was to be completed over 18 weekends, with an anticipated completion date in August, but the Beverly Hills City Council agreed to the expedited work schedule last month.
More details on the closure
Through traffic will be detoured along major roads surrounding the closed section of Wilshire.
If you ride the 720 or 20 Metro bus lines, expect a different route than you’re used to. The routes, which typically connect downtown to Santa Monica via Wilshire, will instead run along Santa Monica Boulevard, Burton Way and San Vicente Boulevard. The buses will make temporary stops along the modified route.
Route 617, which usually cuts through Wilshire along Beverly Drive, will travel along Santa Monica Boulevard, Century Park East and Olympic Boulevard during the work period.
Pedestrian access will be maintained along Wilshire. Also, the city of Beverly Hills said in a frequently asked questions page on its website that its police and fire departments are “coordinating with Metro and its contractors to ensure emergency access near the closure.”
Construction could be noisy and extend into the overnight hours, but such work “will be minimized as much as possible,” the city said on its FAQ page.
After April 7, traffic along the corridor will be reduced to two lanes in each direction to support continued restoration work, like gutters, curbs and traffic signals.
The status of the D-line extension
The D Line currently runs from downtown L.A. to Koreatown. If the current timeline for the extension project holds, you’ll be able to take the train beyond Koreatown and into Westwood by 2027.
The first of three sections of the extension project is expected to open later this year. It consists of three new stations along Wilshire through Miracle Mile.
The current closure on Wilshire is in service of the second section of the extension. It’ll add two additional stations to the D Line, stretching its route into Beverly Hills and into Century City. Metro anticipates the second section will be open in 2026.
The final two stations are expected to open in 2027.
