Federal Ban Lifted on Subway Expansion

Mayor Villaraigosa, CMs Gruel, LaBonge, Weiss, and Rosendahl held a press conference at Union Station to announce a new push for a "Subway to the Sea" Thursday.

Congress approved lifting the ban on heavy rail construction in Los Angeles Wednesday, paving the way for expanding the subway, it was announced Thursday at a press conference at MTA headquarters at Union Station. "This is the proudest moment of my career so far," said Councilmember LaBonge who has been the leading advocate for taking the Red Line to the ocean along Wilshire Boulevard.

When the Councilmember was a member of the MTA board, he successfully won approval to have a study done on the safety of tunneling through methane zones, notably the Wilshire corridor. The study concluded that a subway could be built and operated safely and without risk to surrounding communities. Councilmember LaBonge now advocates to overturn a county ban on funding for heavy rail construction, which would take a vote of the people. "We need to leverage as many resources as we can to get this subway built in our lifetime," he said. "It took 18 years from design to construction for the first. It shouldn't have to take so long this time around. Cost of the segment from Western to Santa Monica is estimated at $4.5 billion. Mayor Villaraigosa advocates for a public-private funding mechanism.