Going for gold: MTA brings Pasadena a train ride closer to Los Angeles, as well as promises eased gridlock with its Gold Line light rail system - Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Railway Track and Structures, Sept, 2003 by Mischa Wanek

If Pasadena, Calif., was on you travel itinerary a few years ago, it would have been in your best interest to have a car, or, at the very least, a bus pass. Amtrak closed shop in 1994, and Southern California's Red Cars ceased operation in the city in 1951. As a result, people looked to autos and the two major freeways running through the area to get around.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is changing that with the opening of the Metro Gold Line, which is expected to carry between 26,000 and 32,000 passengers daily.

"It is our hope that it will provide those in need of transit a way to get a round Los Angeles," said Rick Jager, senior communications officer with MTA. "It is also our hope that many people will leave their cars at home and use the Metro Gold Line instead of fighting congested freeways."

MTA's hopes appear to be within sight. On July 26, opening day of the Gold Line, an estimated 80,000 people welcomed commuter service back to Pasadena.

All about the Gold Line

The Metro Gold Line runs along two heavily-congested freeways, the Pasadena Freeway and the Foothill Freeway. According to the MTA, the line will reduce about 8,100 daily auto trips, a well as 97,760 vehicle miles traveled.

The Metro Gold Line extends MTA's Metro Rail system by 13.7 miles, bringing Metro Rail's operation mileage to 73.1 miles.

"The addition of the Metro Gold Line enhances travel opportunities for the region," said Jager. "Now people can travel by Metro Rail from Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Universal City, North Hollywood Long Beach, Norwalk and El Segundo."

MTA operates the 22-mile Metro Blue Line from L.A. to Long Beach, the 20-mile Metro Green Line from Norwalk to El Segundo, the 13.7-mile Metro Gold Line from Pasadena to L.A. and the 17.4-mile Metro Red Line subway system from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles through Hollywood to North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley.

MTA estimates the final price tag on the Metro Gold Line to be $859 million. This includes the complete construction budget of $725 million, plus $17 million

in start-up costs, $10 million for a parking structure at Sierra Madre Villa Station, $10 million in train-control/safety-related equipment upgrades and $97 million for Metro Gold Line train cars.

"It offers a real alternative to using the automobile, especially along the Pasadena and Foothill Freeways," said Jager. "It's clean, fast, reliable and uses state-of-the-art technology. It also offers riders an opportunity to use other public transit systems, like the Metro Red Line subway system in downtown Los Angeles. Passengers can easily transfer from the Metro Gold Line to the Metro Red Line and complete their journey into downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, North Hollywood, Long Beach and all points in between."

From blue to gold

MTA originally began planning for the light rail line in 1994, but had to suspend the project in 1998 due to budget constraints. The line was saved by a bill introduced by then-State Senator Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena) in 1999. The bill, SB 1847, created a single purpose joint powers authority, known as the Metro Blue Line Construction Authority.

The Construction Authority would be headed by a ceo, who answered to a five-member board. The board would consist of representatives from the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena, L.A., Claremont and a representative from the MTA. Richard D. Thorpe was hired as ceo, based on his work history of on-time and on-budget light rail projects.

The line's name was later changed to the Metro Gold Line and the agency took over existing funds and responsibility for design and construction of the project.

After performing a feasibility study, the Construction Authority found the Gold Line could still be built within its original budget and timeline.

Design-build ideology

Once the project was back on track, the Construction Authority decided on a construction method not commonly used in transit--a design-build approach.

In this approach, the owner of a project leaves the responsibility of design, as well as construction, up to the individual contractor. In a traditional design-bid-build approach, the owner of a project would finalize a design with an independent designer, request bids and then begin construction. "When we take over, we're starting on Day One and developing our priorities and work sequences," said Stan Driver, project manager at Kiewit Pacific Co., part of the Kiewit/Washington Joint Venture that acted as contractor for the Gold Line.

According to Driver, the design build team, made up of the contractor and the designer, creates single point of responsibility, instead of the two points of responsibility found in the more-traditional design bid-build approach.

Driver notes that having a single point of responsibility places the accountability for project completion and community relations on a single entity, in this case, the designer/contractor team.

"In this project, we were working within our 30-foot wide corridor going right through Old Pasadena, where Colorado Boulevard passes right over the top of the alignment, and that's, of course, the corridor for the Rose Parade.