Today, Metro wrapped up a series of community meetings on its plan to extend Metro E Line light rail eastward. There was no big news revealed regarding the Metro Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project. The anticipated schedule has the Eastside extension opening to the public in about a decade.
The overall Eastside project will extend approximately nine miles, mainly on Washington Boulevard. The extension will run southeast, from the current East L.A. E Line terminus through the cities of Commerce, Montebello, Pico Rivera, and Santa Fe Springs to a terminus in southeast Whittier. (An earlier alternative, along the 60 Freeway, was eliminated in 2020.)
In 2022, facing escalating costs, Metro decided to split the project into two phases [staff report]. The current 5-mile "initial operating segment" will end at the intersection of Washington and Greenwood Avenue in the city of Montebello. That first section will include a 3-mile tunnel (in East L.A. and the city of Commerce), a mile of aerial rail (in Commerce), and a mile of surface rail on Washington in the city of Montebello.
Early on, Metro had intended to fund the project using local and state funding, so the initial environmental approvals were done under state law (CEQA - the California Environmental Quality Act). When the cost of the initial 5-mile phase came in at roughly $8 billion, Metro decided to also seek federal funding. Under federal law (NEPA - the National Environmental Protection Act), the project needs additional environmental clearance for federal funds.
A lot of the Eastside project work this year will be focused on NEPA clearance. Metro plans to release its federal environmental assessment this summer, which would be approved by early 2026.
In addition to environmental clearance, Metro continues to advance design and engineering, and continues to gather data on current conditions, via soil sampling and utility potholing.
If all goes well, Metro will secure additional federal and/or state funding, with major construction getting underway around 2029. That would mean that the initial extension to Montebello would open to the public circa 2035-37.
Find additional Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 information at Metro's project page.
