Stantec is working with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the high-priority Purple Line Extension project, which celebrated a major milestone on October 16, as tunnel boring machines (TBMs) — named Elsie and Soyeon — began work for the Purple Line Extension Transit Project Section 1. Elsie and Soveon will bore concurrently for approximately two years, starting at the Wilshire/La Brea Station. Stantec is leading the Westside Extension Support Team (WEST) joint venture, which serves as Metro’s construction management support services consultant on Section 1 of the three-phase Purple Line Extension, set to significantly improve mobility between downtown Los Angeles and many of its busiest suburbs.
Stantec is providing construction management support services to assist Metro in overseeing the design-build mainline and design-bid-build utility contracts. Stantec’s services include administration of the construction contracts and verifying construction is completed with a high level of quality and safety. In addition to Stantec, the WEST joint venture includes 13 small business partners—9 of the firms are Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.
“We are excited to see the TBMs begin the next step in this critical project that will provide greater transit options for residents of Los Angeles,” said Paul Ryan, Stantec’s administrative project manager overseeing the construction support services contract. “We are passionate about improving the cities where we work and live, and collaborating with Metro to extend the Purple Line is an exciting opportunity to make our community a better place.”
Stantec is involved in several critical LA-area transportation projects, including providing construction management support on the Crenshaw/LAX Corridor project, one of the most complex transit projects in LA history; design for the new Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station Improvement project, which will expand and provide a more efficient passenger experience at one of LA’s busiest Metro stations; and design of the new Glendale Beeline Maintenance Facility, which will better support the City of Glendale’s growing transit fleet.
The Purple Line Extension is a critically important rail project that will provide a high-capacity, reliable alternative for commuters to travel between downtown Los Angeles, the Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, Century City, and Westwood, where stations will be near UCLA and the VA Hospital. From the current terminus at Wilshire/Western, the Purple Line Extension will extend westward for about nine miles and add seven new stations, providing easy access to the Westside, the region’s second-largest job center. Travel time between downtown Los Angeles and Westwood is expected to be about 25 minutes. The project will add three new stations at Wilshire and La Cienega, Wilshire and Fairfax, and Wilshire and La Brea to the Purple Line, and is expected to be complete in 2023.
