Gold Line station ceremony

In a ceremony Thursday (Feb. 10) with Metro, City, and Chamber of Commerce officials that brings the light rail Gold Line Foothill Extension one step closer to reality, the Foothill Extension Construction Authority unveiled a sign on the northwest corner of the intersection of First Avenue and Santa Clara St. where the parking garage is to be built for the train station that will sit across the street on the southwest corner.

(Further details from the Construction Authority continue below the following 80-second video highlight of the Feb. 10 ceremony.) — By Scott Hettrick

Get the Flash Player to see this content. With the October 2009 passage of Metro’s 2009 Long Range Transportation Plan, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension is slated to receive critical funds to break ground on construction of the line’s next phase (Phase 2A) from Pasadena to Azusa in June 2010. The more than $800 million allocation represents an important early win for Measure R funds that will translate into new jobs, increased economic investment and new public transit options in the region.

Foothill Extension Construction Authority Board members gathered with a coalition of city elected and business leaders to commemorate this achievement and the coming of the Foothill Extension Phase 2A project by unveiling the fourth of six station signs in the city of Arcadia at the future station site in anticipation of the project’s June 2010 ground breaking.About the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority is an independent transportation planning and construction agency created in 1999 by the California State Legislature. Its purpose is to construct the Gold Line light-rail line from downtown Los Angeles to Montclair. The Construction Authority completed Phase 1 of the line in 2003 (connecting downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena) and is currently preparing to begin construction on Phase 2A (Pasadena to Azusa).

Phase 2B will extend the line further east (from Glendora to Montclair), and a possible extension to LA/Ontario International Airport is under study. Funds from Los Angeles County’s Measure R half-cent sales tax increase have been allocated to the Foothill Extension project and construction is projected to begin on Phase 2A in June 2010. Additional funds are being sought to complete the remaining phases of the project.