March_2022 - 21

replacement program, rail profiling program and
modernization of its El Cerrito del Norte Station.
What 2022 will bring to agencies responsible
for rail networks will be more critical maintenance
work, investments in modernization of components
and systems and new openings as long-planned projects
are scheduled to enter service. What follows is
a snapshot of what large agencies across the United
States are planning for the year.
L.A. Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (L.A. Metro) Board of Directors
adopted a balanced $8 billion Fiscal Year 2022 budget,
which includes $476.3 million for State of Good
Repair and $3.2 billion for transportation infrastructure
developments and regional rail programs. L.A.
Metro notes the transportation infrastructure development
and regional rail program numbers are
more than 24 percent higher than FY21, which it
says is because various projects have moved into
the construction phase - the costliest phase - of
project delivery.
L.A. Metro has arguably the most active rail expansion
program in the U.S. with nearly $2.3 billion
of the authority's $2.5 billion transit expansion
budget in FY22 slated for rail projects. Projects that
will continue to advance this year include the Airport
Metro Connector, East San Fernando Transit
Corridor, E Line (Expo) Light Rail Transit project, L
Line (Gold) Foothill Extension 2A to Azusa, L Line
(Gold) Foothill Extension 2B and all three sections
of the Westside D Line (Purple) Subway Extension.
Additionally, L.A. Metro is scheduled to open two
light-rail projects in 2022: the Crenshaw/LAX Light
Rail Transit project and the Regional Connector.
The Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail Transit project
began construction in 2014 to construct an 8.5-mile
light-rail line from the Metro E Line (Expo) to the
Metro C Line near Interstate 105. The project includes
eight stations and a new maintenance facility. In a
February 2022 meeting of the L.A. Metro Construction
Committee, the project was reported to be at
99.5 percent completion with the remaining work
being system integration testing and punch-list repair.
The line is anticipated to open in late summer
2022. However, the opening date is dependent on the
project's contractor reaching substantial completion
and proper testing occurring.
The 1.9-mile Regional Connector, also referred
to as the missing link, will connect L.A. Metro's
L Line (Gold) to the 7th St./Metro Center Station.
The extension will provide a one-seat ride for travel
across Los Angeles County. In the February Construction
Committee meeting, the project was
reported to be 90 percent complete with an anticipated
opening in the fall of 2022.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
CTA
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has planned
a FY22 capital budget of $1.076 billion as part of a
five-year capital improvement program that is targeting
nearly $3.5 billion in investments through
FY26. CTA's five-year capital plan tells the tale of
an agency focused on modernizing and maintaining
its assets with strategic expansion projects included.
CTA notes its capital program fits within a regional
context and major projects come with the consideration
of how they would match the Regional Transportation
Authority's Regional Transit Strategic Plan
and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's
30-year plan.
CTA began 2022 with the wrap
up of the Red-Purple Bypass project
and started the North Belmont
Red-Purple Reconstruction project,
which are both part of the authority's
largest reconstruction effort in
history-the $2.1 billion Red and
Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase
One project. Additionally, CTA's
multi-year Your New Blue program
entered the final phase of a signal upgrade
project at the start of the year.
The signal component is the largest part of the Your
New Blue modernization program, which is designed
to provide more reliable service along the O'Hare
branch of the Blue Line.
In FY22, CTA is targeting an estimated $125 milA
CROSSOVER
viewed inside
a tunnel as
part of L.A.
Metro's Regional
Connector
project.
" Investment
in transit infrastructure has
always been an investment in
a strong future for the city. "
-DORVAL CARTER, JR.,
CTA President
lion of its capital program budget on rail projects,
including more than $95 million on the planned
Red Line Extension, more than $179 million on the
North Main Line - RPM, nearly $11 million on signal
replacements and upgrades, more than $52 million
on infrastructure safety and renewal programs and
nearly $125 million on rolling stock.
The planned Red Line Extension is another
multi-year, long vision project that will extend the
MARCH 2022 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 21
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