LA Metro advances plans for heavy rail project connecting the San Fernando Valley to the Westside

A decades-long plan for underground heavy rail transit along the Sepulveda Corridor was advanced by the Los Angeles Metro Board of Directors on Thursday, connecting the San Fernando Valley to the Westside.

Applause rang out in the boardroom after the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project was unanimously approved to move forward by board members, essentially laying the groundwork for an alternative to the 405 Freeway.

The route would travel from Van Nuys to Sherman Oaks, under Bel-Air and Beverly Crest, UCLA, and end at Metro's E Line/Expo Sepulveda Station.

The project aims to lay nearly 13 miles of underground rail and add seven stations at an estimated cost of around $25 billion. Metro officials say the price tag will change as they finalize the project.

"We have tried widening freeways and building over mountains, and we've spent billions doing it. The approach has failed," Los Angeles City Councilmember and Metro Director Katy Yaroslavsky said. "This project represents a fundamentally different strategy."

The 2016 voter-approved half-cent sales tax, Measure M, will support the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project.

Yaroslavsky called for the agency to focus on the path to delivery and funding, encouraging her colleagues to push for cost reductions, explore new technologies, and construction approaches.

Metro officials said that construction for the project will occur underground, eliminating surface construction and reducing vibration impacts. Tunnels would be below at least 500 feet underground.

The board's approval on Thursday moves the project forward for further design plans and a final environmental impact report, and additional environmental documentation.

"There's still a lot to do until we get shovels in the ground, let alone open this thing," Yaroslavsky said.