A last-minute shift could throw Metro South Bay rail plans into disarray. After several months' delay, the Metro board had been scheduled to approve the final alignment for a four-mile light rail extension from Redondo Beach to Torrance. But a new motion would override the anticipated plan, instead selecting a more difficult, more expensive project.
At this Thursday's Metro board meeting [agenda], the board will likely decide between the two competing alignments.
The project is called the Metro C Line Extension to Torrance - though that part of the C Line (formerly the Green Line) now operates as the K Line.
The two competing alternatives are:
1 - Metro "ROW" alignment
Light rail would run in an existing rail right-of-way owned by Metro. The "ROW" (for "right-of-way") is today an active rail corridor which sees a couple of freight trains each week. In the ROW, trains run fairly close to homes - about 50 feet away.
Most of time the ROW is basically a park. It's a pleasant grassy space, with mature trees. Many neighbors walk there. Many want to preserve the ROW space more-or-less as is.
Metro's plan (called the "hybrid alternative") for the ROW would be to install two new tracks in addition to the existing freight rail track. Light rail would run there mostly at-grade, with grade separated crossings at major intersections - mostly elevated structures, and a couple of undercrossings (basically trenches). The area where neighbors currently walk would be narrowed, and formalized as a bike/walk path.
In 2024, Metro estimated that the hybrid ROW alignment would cost roughly $2.2 billion. In 2024 the Metro board approved the hybrid as the "locally preferred alternative" which Metro would focus on for the project's environmental clearance.
1 - Hawthorne Boulevard alignment
Parallel to the ROW, about 2,000 feet to the east, runs Hawthorne Boulevard. It's a wide commercial street, about 160 feet overall, with 8+ lanes of car traffic and a 60-foot wide median. The median is partly landscaped, but mostly filled with turn lanes and car parking. The reason Hawthorne is so wide is because streetcars ran there long ago.
Metro studied siting the Torrance light rail extension in the middle of Hawthorne Boulevard, on elevated tracks. Metro found that the Hawthorne Boulevard alignment actually has somewhat higher ridership projections than ROW alternatives. Metro forecasts Hawthorne sees ~3 percent more riders.
But it also has serious drawbacks.
Hawthorne's biggest issue is the cost. It's more expensive to build elevated rail than it is to run mostly at-grade. The estimated price tag for Hawthorne elevated rail: ~$3 billion. That's nearly 50 percent higher than ROW alternatives.
A higher cost for higher ridership might seem like a decent choice; people who live along the ROW certainly say this. But Hawthorne's high cost could make funding very difficult. Metro had expected to fund this extension with just local and state dollars. A $3 billion project likely means Metro would have to pursue federal funding, pitting the South Bay against other Metro rail projects (at a time when the current administration is not inclined to fund transit, nor projects in blue states).
On top of being fiscally infeasible, Hawthorne has a few other problems.
Some Hawthorne Boulevard businesses oppose rail there.
To get to Hawthorne Boulevard, elevated rail would to run in Caltrans 405 Freeway right-of-way. Caltrans typically strongly opposes these sorts of incursions into its freeway right-of-way (which it wants to preserve for freeway expansion).
Despite some positives, Metro shifting to the Hawthorne alignment would almost certainly mean significant delays for this Torrance extension. It appears likely that if the board selects the Hawthorne Boulevard alternative, the project would never be built.
Showdown Thursday
Last week, the Metro board Planning Committee considered the C/K Line extension approval. Staff recommended the ROW alignment. Public comment was split. The committee pushed the decision the full Metro board.
Transit advocates are organizing in support of the ROW alignment. Nimbys are organizing for Hawthorne. Let Metro know what you think, via email or via remote or in-person public comment.
Watch Nick Andert's explainer video for more on the Torrance extension project.
