Metro Looks to Approve Torrance C Line Extension Alignment

Tomorrow, the Metro board Planning and Programming Committee looks to approve a plan for the C Line light rail extension from Redondo Beach to Torrance. The proposal [staff report] selects a relatively cost-effective alignment running in existing Metro-owned rail right-of-way that currently carries infrequent freight train traffic.

Metro’s C Line Extension project would extend about four miles in and along the South Bay cities of Lawndale, Redondo Beach, and Torrance. The project is included in the voter-approved Measure M sales tax plan. Though polling shows regional support for the extension, it has encountered significant resistance from some locals, including neighbors along the right-of-way and some governmental leaders.

Early on, Metro had proposed the extension run at grade (as current freight traffic operates) with limited aerial stretches. Metro also studied more costly alternatives that would run in a trench, or (as the opposition urges) run somewhere else – namely along the 405 Freeway and Hawthorne Bouelvard.

This week, the board will vote on approving a “Locally Preferred Alternative” that has been termed the “Hybrid” alternative; it’s a hybrid of the original mostly at-grade version, with two short trench sections.

As shown in the above image, the selected hybrid alternative cost is relatively low ($2.2 billion) compared to a full trench ($2.8 billion) or Hawthorne Boulevard ($3 billion). The hybrid costs more than Metro’s mostly at-grade alignment ($1.9 billion); for that added cost, it adds two grade separations, which improve safety, travel time, and reliability.

Some neighbors will likely continue to express opposition, but selecting the sensible cost-effective hybrid alternative should help this oft-delayed rail extension move a step closer to reality.

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