Late Thursday, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) board of directors approved light rail transit as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor transportation project.

The light rail alternative will be 8.5 miles in length from the Metro Green Line Aviation Station to the Expo Line, now under construction, with a travel time estimated at 20 minutes. There will be seven new stations plus an option for one more. The final Environment Impact Study/Environment Impact Report could be ready by the end of 2010, with the line scheduled to open in 2018.

The project is estimated to cost $1.3 billion in today's dollars. An estimated 7,800 construction jobs will be created annually by the project.

Funding will come from Measure R, the half-cent sales tax initiative approved by Los Angeles County voters last November to improve the region's mobility and create the transportation infrastructure needed to help resolve local traffic congestion, air pollution and enhance economic development.

The Crenshaw Transit Corridor project is a major north-south investment in the Crenshaw District area, potentially providing relief for the I-405 and I-110 freeways. It also will provide a major connection to LAX connecting the Metro Green Line to the south with the proposed LAX Automated Peoples Mover System and the Expo Line to the north.

The project would provide connections to the entire Metro Rail system and Metro's more than 2,100 peak-hour buses.