Gold Line light-rail project reaches construction milestone on operations facility

Late last week, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority announced all design work, nearly one-third of construction and just about all underground utility installations have been completed on the 24-acre, $265 million Gold Line Operations Campus.

The campus is part of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension light-rail line being built from Pasadena to Azusa, Calif. The project broke ground in September 2012.

To date, all former buildings and a former frontage road on the southern boundary of the property have been demolished, the grade of the property has been altered significantly, and an extensive system of underground utilities have been installed, authority officials said in a press release.

The campus is designed to serve as full-service operations facility for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's expanding light-rail system. The campus will house up to 84 light-rail vehicles and feature areas for vehicle inspection, heavy repair, body repairs, painting, storage and cleaning.

The facility is on schedule to receive light-rail vehicles starting in early 2015, in advance of the Foothill Extension's full completion in September of that year, construction authority officials said.