Metro Board Approves $798 Million Funding Agreement to Build Final Phase of the Foothill Gold Line

Project Funding is Mostly Coming from the State of California's TIRCP Program

MONROVIA, Calif., Oct. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority announced today that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board approved a $798 million amendment to the ongoing funding agreement between the agencies. The approved amendment, which now goes to the Construction Authority board for ratification, will complete the Los Angeles County portion of the final 3.2-mile, two-station construction segment from Pomona to Montclair. Under the terms of the agreement, Metro will utilize a State of California Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant to pay for their portion of the project; after naming the project the agency's number one priority for new state funding in 2023. The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) has dedicated $80 million of state and local funding for the portion of the project in San Bernardino County.

     "Completing this project is essential to the future of this corridor and to the region," stated Construction Authority Board Chair and Claremont City Council Member Ed Reece. "This project will expand mobility with reliable and sustainable transit, reducing emissions and improving quality of life for all. We sincerely appreciate Metro's commitment to completing this number one priority project."

     The approved funding agreement amendment between the two agencies defines the processes needed for Metro to fund work and collaborate with the Construction Authority, as well as sets the foundation for identifying and implementing a detailed budget and means for disbursement, tracking and management of the funds. It expands the scope of work that the Construction Authority can utilize the county's funding to include the Los Angeles County portion of the final project segment from Pomona to Montclair.

     "Bringing Metro rail to the residents of the northern San Gabriel Valley has been a priority for Metro for more than two decades," stated Metro Board Chair and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. "Today's approval allows that vision that so many in these communities have been waiting for to become reality, and I look forward to breaking ground on it next year."

     "The San Gabriel Valley Legislative Caucus made completing the Foothill Gold Line to Claremont and Montclair a top priority after the original six-station project had to be shortened in 2018 due to funding constraints," stated State Assembly Member Chris Holden, whose district includes both of the future station cities of Claremont and Montclair. "We fought hard to get the funding to stay in the State budget these past two cycles and I want to thank Metro for utilizing the funds quickly to get to work building more transit in Los Angeles."

     The Construction Authority is currently underway to hire the design-build team for the shovel-ready project. The Authority expects to award a contract in Spring 2025 and break ground later in the year. The final project segment will complete the Foothill Gold Line's 25-station system, being built in four construction segments. It will provide a safe, reliable transit alternative to driving the busy 210 and 10 freeways and offer connections with Metrolink's San Bernardino Line at both the Claremont and Montclair stations. A future trip from Montclair to Pasadena should take just over 40 minutes, and a trip from Montclair to Los Angeles would be about 75 minutes.

      "Next year will be an historic year for the Foothill Gold Line, and I am incredibly proud of the progress we are making," added Chair Reece. "In addition to completing construction on the four-station project segment from Glendora to Pomona the first week of 2025; the Construction Authority will also be able to break ground on the final segment – bringing us one major step closer to completing the agency's legislative mandate."

Media kit with fact sheets, artist renderings, site plans and project maps for the future Claremont and Montclair stations is available at https://bit.ly/FGLFundingApproval.

About the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority – The 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 (now part of the Metro A Line) from Union Station to Montclair. 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 is nearing construction completion on the Glendora to Pomona segment and is shovel-ready with preparations for the final project segment from Pomona to Montclair.

The current construction project from Glendora to Pomona is funded mostly by Los Angeles County's Measure M, along with residual funds from Measure R not used to complete the Pasadena to Azusa segment. The State of California has also provided a greenhouse gas reduction grant to support the project. Funding for the final project segment will mostly come from State of California TIRCP grants, with additional local funding provided by San Bernardino County.

SOURCE Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority