Foothill Gold Line Board Re-Elects Chair and Vice Chair

MONROVIA, Calif., Dec. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- At their December meeting, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority (Construction Authority) Board of Directors voted unanimously to re-elect Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval as Chair, and La Verne Council Member Robin Carder as Vice Chair, to lead the agency's nine-member board. The continuing leadership of Chair Sandoval and Vice Chair Carder comes at a critical moment for the Foothill Gold Line, as the $2.1 billion, 12.3-mile Glendora to Montclair light rail extension heads into major construction.

"Thank you to our colleagues on the board for their continued trust in us," stated Chair Sandoval following the vote. "We have a tremendous task ahead as we extend the Foothill Gold Line into more cities in the San Gabriel Valley, and we will work hard to ensure that another successful project is delivered on time and on budget."

The re-election of Chair Sandoval and Vice Chair Carder caps off their first year of leading the light rail agency, which culminated with the historic signing of the Alignment Design-Build Contract for the light rail project on October 4, 2019, between the Construction Authority and the Joint Venture team of Kiewit-Parsons. The contract includes an $805.6 million base scope for the first nine miles of the project from Glendora to Pomona, with a two-year contract option to complete the full project to Montclair for a total contract amount of $1,186.9 million if additional funds are secured by October 2021. The extension will add new stations to the Metro Gold Line system in the cities of Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair, and may be built in phases if the additional funding is not secured in time to initiate the contract option. The Glendora to Pomona segment is anticipated to be completed in 2025, and the entire project altogether to Montclair by 2028 if the contract option is initiated.

"The contract option provides a tremendous opportunity for our region, by offering potential funding partners a firm, fixed bid price – not an estimate – to complete this project in the next few years," added Chair Sandoval. "We will continue to press forward and work with our partners and elected officials at all levels to seek the funding needed to complete the line to Claremont and Montclair and bring the train to all of the cities that have been planning for its arrival for decades."

The Foothill Gold Line board is made up of elected and appointed representatives from throughout the project corridor. In addition to the Chair and Vice Chair, the board currently includes: Duarte Council Member and Metro Board Member John Fasana, Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, Los Angeles representative Melchor Ilomin, Ontario Council Member Alan Wapner (non-voting), Pasadena Council Member Gene Masuda (non-voting), and South Pasadena representative Dan Evans (non-voting). The Governor's appointee is currently vacant.

About the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority – The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is an independent transportation planning and construction agency created in 1998 by the California State Legislature to plan, design and build the Metro Gold Line light rail system from Union Station to Montclair, along the Foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. The agency completed the first segment from Union Station to Pasadena in 2003 and the Pasadena to Azusa segment in 2015; both on time and under budget. The agency began work on the Glendora to Montclair project in 2003. The Glendora to Montclair project was environmentally cleared in March 2013 under the CEQA and again in 2019 to allow the potential for phased construction. The project completed advanced conceptual engineering in 2016. When completed, the extension will add new light rail stations in the cities of Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair. The project may need to be built in phases, due to funding constraints.

The project is being built in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The Los Angeles County portion will be funded mostly by Measure M, with residual funds from Measure R not used to complete the Pasadena to Azusa segment. San Bernardino County is responsible to fund their portion of the project to Montclair (in San Bernardino County). The State of California is also providing $300 million in funding through a TIRCP grant awarded in 2018.

SOURCE Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority