The 605CIP would widen about twelve miles of the 605 Freeway, as well as portions of the 5, 10, 60, and 105 Freeways. The project would extend through nine cities – Baldwin Park, Downey, City of Industry, El Monte, Norwalk, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte, and Whittier, as well the unincorporated county areas.
In August Metro announced that the 605CIP would impact 1,200+ properties, including 350+ full acquisitions. Metro has not made public the actual properties that would be impacted, but has made clear that the project would take out more than 200 homes in the city of Downey, primarily in working class Latino neighborhoods along the north side of the 5 Freeway.
To widen the 650 and 5 Freeways, Metro plans to impact more than 1,200 properties, including full acquisitions of 240+ properties in Downey - via Metro presentation
The motion directs Metro CEO Phil Washington to craft a final report with other alternatives, including one that minimizes right-of-way impacts and/or a Transportation System/Demand Management (TSM/TDM) alternative. Note that in 2016, during the 605CIP scoping process, Metro had announced that its environmental studies would include both of those alternatives. But sometime between 2016 and 2020, Metro ditched those previously announced alternatives in favor of three very similar alternatives, all of which would add four lanes to the 605 Freeway.
Slide from Metro 2016 605CIP scoping presentation - via Metro
The motion also calls for a "a review of the project’s purpose and need and its alignment with various local and state policies and plans related to equity, greenhouse gas emissions, and vehicle miles traveled."
In regards to equity, Contreras has stressed the racial justice implications of Metro's plans, which would demolish working class Latino homes north of the 5 while leaving homes belonging to whiter, more well-off residents south of the freeway more or less intact.
Metro 2014 5 Freeway widening map showing more "right-of-way impact" (red) in Downey's Latino neighborhoods north of the 5 compared to areas south of the freeway where fewer Latinos live - map via Metro
Among the stated project purposes is addressing congestion.
The motion further directs Metro to engage the community to develop its 605CIP alternatives report. It directs Metro outreach to include "San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, the I-5 Joint Powers Authority, the County of Los Angeles, corridor cities, and community stakeholders." Metro has not had public meetings about the project since 2018, and many aspects of the project have changed since then - particularly the number of homes targeted for demolition, which has ballooned. The motion directs that outreach involve Metro's Executive Officer of Equity and Race - another acknowledgement of the racial justice issue raised by Contreras.
The motion directs Metro staff to report back to the board with a status update in January 2021, and with the final alternatives report in April 2021. The motion delays the release of the project environmental documents (draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report EIS/EIR) until after the final report is received by the board. Metro had announced the draft EIS/EIR would be released in September 2020, but later delayed it until early 2021.
The Metro board will consider, and likely approve, the 605CIP motion at this week's full board meeting which takes place Thursday, October 22 at 10 a.m.