Stantec — as a senior member of the Westside Extension Support Team (WEST) joint venture — is providing construction management support services to assist the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) in overseeing the design-build station and tunnel contracts, and design-bid-build utility contracts for the high-priority Purple Line Extension project. The project celebrated a major milestone on June 2 — the halfway completion mark for construction on Section 1, the first four-mile subway section between Koreatown and Beverly Hills.

The project, which comprises three different construction sections, is set to significantly improve mobility between downtown Los Angeles and West Los Angeles. Stantec’s services include administration of the construction contracts and documenting that construction is completed safely and to Metro’s contract specifications. In addition to Stantec, the WEST joint venture includes 13 small business partners — 9 of whom are Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.

The critically important Purple Line Extension Project will provide a high-capacity, reliable transit alternative for commuters to travel between downtown Los Angeles, the Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, Century City, and Westwood, where stations will be near UCLA and the VA Hospital. From the current terminus at Wilshire/Western, the Purple Line will extend westward for about nine miles and add seven new stations, providing easy access to the Westside, the region’s second-largest job center. 

Travel time between downtown Los Angeles and Westwood is expected to be about 25 minutes. Section 1 of the Purple Line project will add three new stations at Wilshire and La Cienega, Wilshire and Fairfax, and Wilshire and La Brea, as well as a new maintenance of way facility. A pair of tunnel-boring machines (TBMs), named Elsie and Soyeon, began work on the four miles of tunnels required for Section 1 in October 2018.

Stantec has worked with Metro for more than a decade and previously provided construction management support services for the Interstate 405 – Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project which improves travel between the San Fernando Valley, the Westside and Los Angeles International Airport.

In addition to the Purple Line Extension Section 1, Stantec is currently involved in several critical LA-area transportation projects with LA Metro, including providing construction management support on the Crenshaw/LAX Corridor project; providing construction management support for the Southwestern Yard Maintenance Facility; and leading the design for the new Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station Improvement project, which will expand and provide a more efficient passenger experience at one of LA’s busiest Metro stations.