Foothill Gold Line Receives $300 Million From State

MONROVIA, Calif., April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Glendora to Montclair was awarded nearly $300 million from the California State Transportation Agency's (CalSTA) Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) for transformative transit and rail projects. The project was one of several major rail investment projects that Los Angeles County Metro submitted for TIRCP grants, with a combined county award of $1.09 billion. TIRCP is part of SB1, with proceeds coming directly from Cap and Trade auctions.

The Foothill Gold Line's TIRCP grant award will be used to fill the estimated funding gap for the $1.5 billion, six-station light rail extension, that will connect Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The gap is based on the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority's latest project estimates; the final project cost will be known later this year, once bids are received. 

"Today's grant award is excellent news for the San Gabriel Valley and our region," stated Construction Authority CEO, Habib F. Balian, after learning of today's announcement by CalSTA. "It highlights how the county can successfully leverage our voter-approved tax measures to bring new funds to Los Angeles, allowing us to complete more projects faster - including the Foothill Gold Line."

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is well underway to hire the design-build contractor for the Glendora to Montclair project. In February, four highly-qualified design-build teams were short-listed to compete for the work, and each was sent an Industry Review Draft Request for Proposals shortly thereafter. The RFP is on schedule to be issued late next month, and a contract award is anticipated in October.

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 Foothill Gold Line from Glendora to Montclair in 2003. The Glendora to Montclair project was environmentally cleared in March 2013 under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and 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 majority of the project is being built in Los Angeles County, with less than 6% in San Bernardino County. 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 from Claremont (in Los Angeles County) to Montclair (in San Bernardino County). The nearly $300 million in State TIRCP funds will be used to support both counties.

SOURCE Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority