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10/10/2022
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) has officially opened the K Line for light-rail service.
The transit agency's newest light-rail line, the K Line marks the return of rail service on Crenshaw Boulevard, which has not had rail access since 1955, L.A. Metro officials said in a press release.
The K Line is L.A. Metro's largest single investment in South Los Angeles since the construction of the A and C lines in the late 1990s. The K Line is expected to provide access to opportunities for South Los Angeles communities, including the Crenshaw Corridor, Hyde Park, Leimert Park, Fairview Heights, Inglewood and Westchester.
The K Line has been an L.A. Metro ambition since its formation in 1993, said L.A. Metro Chair Ara Najarian.
"What was conceived decades ago as only lines on a map and a hopeful dream have ... been made a reality thanks to county taxpayers’ investment in [L.A. Metro]," Najarian said. "The K Line is the perfect example of how [L.A. Metro] is continuing to transform public transportation for the better in Los Angeles County."
The line cost $2.1 billion to construct and was funded in large part by the Measure R transportation sales tax, which has been in effect since 2008. Prior to the voters' passage of Measure R, plans for what would become the K Line remained on hold due to a lack of local funding, L.A. Metro officials said.
Federal grants and loans were also key to ensuring that the project stayed on schedule, officials added.
The K Line will connect directly to Los Angeles International Airport by 2024 — a line that will be critical for moving people during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. The line will also be expanded further north; L.A. Metro is developing a draft environmental impact report to explore ways for the K Line to reach Hollywood. That report is expected in 2023.