While many eyes focused on the Metro Board Room last week, the Expo Construction Authority also met to discuss a series of contract updates and construction news. But for Expo watchers there was also some major news on the Culver City front. Negotiations between the City and the Authority seem to be back on track and work on the Expo Station at the end of Phase I seems to be ready to move forward.
Last month, Streetsblog reported on the conflict between Culver City and the Expo Construction Authority over payments regarding the Expo Station scheduled to be constructed as part of Phase I of the program. The Authority charged that Culver City owed Expo $7 million and wouldn't move forward with designing the station and all of the infrastructure relating to the station.
Culver City charged that they were owed an easement for a Transit Oriented Development, that they hadn't received it, and that they wouldn't pay the Authority any funds until it was negotiated.
Last week, Expo CEO Rick Thorpe announced that the two sides had come together and that construction of the station with the promised road improvements, bicycle infrastructure and parking garages "should" happen very soon.
"I'm very optimistic that at next month's meeting we'll be able to announce that contracts have been signed to finish work at Culver City," Thorpe reports.
As promised, and first reported here, Culver City has deposited $3 million of the $7 million in question and Thorpe believes that the rest of the funds are on their way. For its part, Expo has resumed the planning necessary for the opening of the Expo Station and negotiations with Culver City Staff.
Streetsblog will stay on top of this story. For now, it appears that whenever Phase I of the Expo Line opens, be in early 2012 or sometime later, that there will be a completed station in Culver City. And that's good news, because they really do have a nice bike network just waiting for the station to open.
