(ATR) The mayor of Los Angeles hopes to accelerate construction of a new metro line in time for the 2024 Olympics.
Eric Garcetti was in Washington this week for meetings with U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. He is trying to get the federal government to apply all possible funding for the extension of the Purple line which will travel through one of the most congested corridors in Los Angeles. In January $1.6 billion was appropriated for the six mile long project.
Garcetti says federal money is still needed to complete the project in time for 2024, even with a new sales tax voters approved last November to fund long-term transport projects. The mayor hopes a commitment from the federal government to advance money to complete the Purple Line by 2024 will help the Olympic bid.
The LA 2024 candidature file submitted in January to the IOC notes the importance ofthe new Metro line.
"Metro is working with the City of LA and the Federal Government on accelerating the extension of the Purple Line in anticipation of the Games. With the recently approved sales tax measure, Measure M, anticipated to generate approximately USD 120 billion to fund transportation infrastructure investments over the next four decades, Metro now has the funding in hand to accelerate the project for completion to Westwood, right at the doorstep of the Olympic and Paralympic Village at UCLA, by 2024," says the LA file.
Organizers of the LA 2024 say they are planning for public transit to carry nearly everybody who needs to get to an Olympic venue in 2024.
With a combination of bus and rail service, LA Metro carries more than 32 million passengers a month. There are four light rail lines and two subway lines, with 92 stations covering 105 miles. Rail service began in 1990, six years after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Paris is the other contender for the 2024 Olympics. The IOC is scheduled to select the host city Sept. 13.
Written by Ed Hula.
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