Harriet the Tunnel Boring Machine to Retire

April 20, 2017
News media is invited to Harriet’s, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) used for the Crenshaw/LAX Line, retirement party in the future Leimert Park Station on Friday, April 21.

News media is invited to Harriet’s, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) used for the Crenshaw/LAX Line, retirement party in the future Leimert Park Station on Friday, April 21. Harriet completed excavation of the twin tunnels connecting the three underground stations for the Crenshaw/LAX light-rail project on April 6, reaching a major milestone for the transit project.

Harriet began excavating under Crenshaw Boulevard on April 27, 2016 and completed the first of two tunnels on October 20, 2016. Excavation of the second tunnel began on November 29, 2016 and it was completed on April 6, 2017. Harriet traveled at an average speed of 60 feet per day and removed 144, 250 cubic yards of soil for the second tunnel. A crew of 75 worked three shifts five days a week.

The Crenshaw/LAX Line will run for 8.5 miles between the Green Line and the Expo Line and includes eight news stations serving the communities of Crenshaw, Inglewood, Westchester and LAX. The project is poised to open in the fall of 2019.

When: Friday, April 21, 2017 at 10 a.m.

Where: Leimert Park Station Box

4330 Crenshaw Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90008

Who: Metro Board Chair & City of Duarte Mayor Pro Tem John Fasana

L.A. County Supervisor & Metro Board Member Mark Ridley-Thomas

Metro Board Member Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker

Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington

News media reporters will have the opportunity to see up-close the 400-foot long tunnel boring machine just outside the tunnel recently finished. Metro officials will be available for one-on-one interviews to discuss project progress.