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Photos: Peer Into A Massive Hole That's Been Dug For The Regional Connector
Work on the Regional Connector in downtown L.A. has been ongoing since 2014. The project will bring a 1.9 mile underground light-rail system that connects the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station to downtown L.A.'s 7th St/Metro Center. This will link up the Gold, Blue, and Expo lines, allowing us to go from Santa Monica to East LA and Azusa to Long Beach without ever having to get up from our seats.
The project will establish underground stations at 1st Street and Central Avenue, 2nd Street and Broadway, and 2nd Street and Hope Street.
What's the progress like so far? Metro released a series of pictures of the construction at 2nd and Hope, and the images are reflective of the massive scope of the work. As you can see in the above images, there's now a giant, vertigo-inducing pit in the area, right by the Broad Museum. This subterranean site is like a cross between the pit in the Dark Knight Rises, and the moon on which the monolith was uncovered in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The whole project is expected to be finished by 2021.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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