LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:
The Purple Line Subway extension is moving forward (you be quiet, Beverly Hills!) and as part of the pre-tunneling process, Metro will be building an "exploratory shaft" near the La Brea Tar Pits in order to make sure they've got a handle on the very unique ground conditions at the historic site.
More from L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's site:
The shaft, to be built on a Los Angeles County Museum of Art parking lot at the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Ogden Drive, will allow engineers to expand on the data gathered in the environmental review process as they investigate earth pressure and gassy ground conditions in the area. The 40x20x75 foot shaft also is expected to be used to demonstrate safe construction procedures and to help refine construction cost estimates for the project. The shaft will be built over the course of 13 months, starting this fall, and will remain in place for monitoring through the fall of 2014.
(h/t Curbed LA)