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In majorly inconvenient news, Union Station's giant bus plaza will be closing for three months for some much needed repairs starting Monday. Located on the east side of Union Station, Patsaouras Transit Plaza serves as a hub for a long list of Metro and municipal buses, along with the LAX Flyaway and a number of private shuttles, all of which will be rerouted until early October. KPCC reports that the bus plaza plays host to a whopping thousand buses a day.
Metro spokesperson Paul Gonzales tells KPCC that the "the accumulated wear and tear of millions of bus trips on the bus plaza has just caused it to wear out [over the past twenty years]," and that ruts caused by the heavily traffic could eventually compromise the entire structure. Crews will resurface the plaza during the closure, replace the waterproofing and draining system and install pedestrian safety fencing, according to Metro.
These repairs are actually the second phase of renovations on Patsaouras. The recently completed first phase created a new passenger pick-up and drop-off area for private vehicles separate from the bus plaza, with direct access to Union Station. Metro reports that having a shared space for cars and transit had previously caused delays for all parties, so this will hopefully provide a smoother experience for everyone.
The buses that currently stop at Union Station will be rerouted to temporary stops on the corner of Cesar Chavez/Vignes or Cesar Chavez/Alameda. Flyaway shuttles will now pick-up and drop-off on the west side of Union Station (right by the Mozaic apartments, if that helps you picture it). For a full list of the relocations, check out this annotated map.
