Metro Breaks Ground on Van Nuys Blvd. Rail Major Construction
This morning, Metro and community leaders broke ground on Metro’s East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit project (ESFV). The 6.5-mile 11-station $4 billion rail line will be located in the middle of Van Nuys Boulevard, extending from Van Nuys to Pacoima.
L.A. City Councilmember Imelda Padilla has long championed the new line, which she celebrated today as “a historical, epic investment for our communities” fostering a “multimodal corridor you can all be proud of.”
Padilla and others decry the lack of high quality transit options in the Valley, praising this project for countering past disinvestment. “Families in the East San Fernando Valley that are watching today,” Padilla proclaimed, “we want to remind you that today is the day being shortchanged for public transit ends.”
L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez praised Metro and LADWP combining both mobility improvements and undergrounding power lines as “making sure that our community – in Pacoima, all along the Van Nuys corridor… get[s] the kinds of quality investments that other neighborhoods have been getting for decades and generations.”
Several speakers acknowledged the community’s role in staying engaged in Metro’s lengthy ESFV project planning process. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath expressed gratitude for community members for “sharing your experiences, giving your input, and pushing Metro to deliver for your community.”
Added 10/20: Watch SBLA short video on ESFV groundbreaking.
Metro broke ground on ESFV rail pre-construction (mainly utility relocation) in late 2022. Metro celebrated full project funding in September 2024. After working through options for the north end of the project, the Metro board approved the project budget and scope in May.
Folks who walk, bike, bus or drive on Van Nuys Boulevard are seeing that construction is already underway. This will intensify in the months and years ahead. Metro currently anticipates that ESFV rail construction will finish in late 2031, with the new line opening to the public in 2032.
