Infra Insight Blog

On May 1, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will hold an industry forum to present initial concepts for several multimodal P3 projects that are being considered for the Sepulveda Pass Corridor in Los Angeles County.  The forum will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Ticket Room at Los Angeles Union Station.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, and Art Leahy, Metro's CEO, are expected to address the forum attendees.

The projects under consideration include a high-capacity rail system and a tolled highway within the Corridor in the vicinity of the I-405 Freeway, a transit connection to the Los Angeles International Airport and a north-south transit opportunity in the east San Fernando Valley that would provide connections to Metro's County-wide transportation network.  The I-405 through the Sepulveda Pass is one of the most congested freeway segments in the nation.  An additional HOV lane is currentlly under construction.

Highway and rail tunnels through the Sepulveda Pass, with an initial cost estimate from US $10 - 13 billion, were identified in a concept study authorized by the Metro board this past December.  The study indicated that premium transit fares and tolls will be necessary to finance the projects due to limited alllocation of public funding under the Measure R sales tax measure that the voters of Los Angeles County approved in November 2008. The Sepulveda Pass Corridor is one of twelve transit projects with funding allocations from Measure R.

Metro is considering the procurement of a pre-development agreement with a private consortium to plan the scope, financing and method for delivering portions or all of the projects.  The project delivery method may be a long term DBFOM concession agreement.

To attend the forum, RSVP by April 26 to Teri Argabright of HDR/InfraConsult, Metro's P3 Advisory Team Lead, at Teri.Argabright@hdrinc.com.  Please provide your name, firm contact information and names of attendees.