Both Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (L.A. Metro) tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have completed the excavation of the tunnels between Century City and the Wilshire/Rodeo station under downtown Beverley Hills for Section 2 of the Purple (D Line) Extension Project.
In early February, the TBMs are anticipated to start digging the tunnels between Wilshire/Rodeo and Wilshire/La Cienega stations. The tunnels on 3.9-mile Section 1 of the project — between Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/La Cienega — were completed in 2021.
Construction is also underway on Section 3 of the project between Century City and the Westwood VA Hospital — including a key station at Wilshire and Westwood boulevards that will provide access to Westwood Village and the UCLA campus.
Here are the vital stats on the tunneling on Section 2:
- The two TBMs — named Ruth and Harriet — began digging at Century City on April 30, 2020, and traveled to the east.
- Both TBMs excavated for 5,811 feet (or about 1.1 miles) between Century City and the Wilshire/Rodeo station.
- The first TBM, Harriet, reached Wilshire/Rodeo on Jan. 11. The second TBM, Ruth, made it to the station box on Jan. 28.
The Purple (D Line) Extension project is extending L.A. Metro’s D Line subway from its current terminus at Wilshire/Western for nine miles to the Westwood VA Hospital in Westwood. The project is funded mostly by Measure R, Measure M and federal grants. Section 1 is forecast to open in 2024, Section 2 in 2025 and Section 3 in 2027. Travel time between Westwood and downtown L.A. is expected to take about 25 minutes.
