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Metro's Planning On Building A Light-Rail Stop That Connects To LAX
Los Angeles is on its way to getting a Metro light-rail that connects to LAX. The Metro Board of Directors today approved a plan to make a Metro stop right by the airport with plans to have it connect to a proposed people-mover.
The new stop would be on 96th Street and Aviation Boulevard on the Metro's Crenshaw/LAX line that is being built right now, according to the L.A. Times. It would be about 1.5 miles east from LAX's main terminal. Metro officials hope to connect this stop to a people-mover that Mayor Eric Garcetti (who's also the vice-chair of the Metro Board) has proposed to be built. The people-mover would be like a monorail that would take passengers to their terminals.
"This is a historic day for our city, because we're finally on the way to bringing rail to LAX," said Garcetti. "We'll be able to fix a historic mistake of our past."
However, this is just the first step in making this a reality before they start construction. There still needs to be an environmental review, design and cost analysis of the new stop. Right now, Metro is estimating that this station could cost $200 million, but it could be more.
And the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) hasn't guaranteed that the people-mover will be built yet, City News Service reported. (LAWA would be in charge of building the people-mover.) Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe said that building this terminal without without confirmation of the people-mover would make it a "beautiful terminal to nowhere." Though, LAWA director Gina Marie Lindsey said they would be making a decision in December, and sees the importance of building it.
If all goes according to plan, the Crenshaw/LAX Line will be open in 2019 and the people-mover as early as 2022.
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