Foothill Gold Extension Project Gets $300M Gap Funding

The Foothill Gold Line project was awarded an additional $300 million from the California State Transportation Agency’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program. The grant fulfills a gap in the funding and brings the project to fully funded with $1.5 billion.

“The six-station Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Glendora to Montclair has an estimated total project cost of $1.5 billion,” Lisa Levy Buch of the Foothill Gold Line. “The $300 million from the State of California will fill the estimated gap in funding that is currently expected; and allows the project to hopefully be fully funded. I use the word “hopefully;” because, the actual cost for the project will be determined once the design-build team is selected and their bid is accepted. The majority of the project cost is associated with the design-build contract.”

Los Angeles County Metro submitted for funding for several projects, and the Foothill Gold Line project was chosen among the group. “The goal of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) is to provide grants from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for transformative capital projects that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving transit systems,” says Levy Buch. “The project was not fully funded without these funds. Metro had made the Foothill Gold Line the county’s top priority for funding; however, there were definitely no guarantees the project’s request would be awarded. This is good news for the project and the region.” A total of $1.09 billion in grants was awarded to projects in the county.

The Foothill Gold Line extension includes six stations that will connect Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, and the Construction Authority is in the process of hiring a design-build team. “The Foothill Gold Line is being built in an area that is expected to grow by 20% by 2035,” says Levy Buch. “The project would improve mobility and access for residents, employees and students by attracting an estimated 28,149 daily passengers in its opening year, divert 20% of vehicle trips from local freeways and streets, reduce 146,700 average daily vehicle miles traveled and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3 million MTCO2e over the life of the project. The project was identified as Metro’s top priority for the TIRCP funds by the Metro board and is locally funded for more than 80% of the project cost.

Finally, unlike a lot of major infrastructure projects, this project has unanimous support by the corridor cities, elected officials at all levels and local organizations. More than 50 organizations and entities wrote letters in support of the project application.”

Once the Construction Authority hires a design-build team, the final cost of the project will be known. The team should be chosen in October. “In the meantime, the Construction Authority is underway on a project to relocate and protect strategic utilities along the 12.3-mile corridor, in advance of the design-builder starting major construction,” says Levy Buch. “W.A. Rasic Construction was awarded the utility relocation contract in 2017.”