Metro Seeks Mass Transit Solution For Sepulveda Pass

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) – The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority is taking proposals for a feasibility study on mass transit options through the Sepulveda Pass, the congested corridor which connects the San Fernando Valley to the Westside.

The Sepulveda Pass in Los Angeles, Calif. Undated. (Credit: Metro)

On Wednesday, Metro issued a Request for Proposals for a study on the feasibility of constructing a "high-capacity transit line" to link the Metro Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley with the Metro Expo Line and/or the upcoming Purple Line subway extension in Westwood. It marks a stretch of about 11 miles.

Last November, Los Angeles County voters approved the Measure M sales tax, which slated an estimated $6.8 billion towards transit and freeway improvements through the Sepulveda Pass, Metro reports.

Another $1 billion is estimated to be available from the Measure R sales tax approved by voters in 2008, making for a combined $7.8 billion.

"With the RFP, Metro is seeking a consultant to identify and evaluate a range of high-capacity transit concepts," Metro said in news release.

In 2014, Metro completed a five-year, $1.1 billion project to add a carpool lane to a 10-mile stretch of the 405 Freeway in Sepulveda Pass, part of the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project. A 2015 study found that the expansion was not successful in easing congestion.

While the Sepulveda Pass Transit Corridor Project currently has a completion date of 2033, Metro is seeking to move up that timeline.

More than 300,000 vehicles travel through the Sepulveda Pass daily, making the 405 Freeway one of the nation's busiest. That number is expected to rise to 430,000 cars a day by 2030.