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Pasadena Blue Line Light Rail Construction Authority Oct. 25 awarded a Kiewit Pacific-led joint venture with Washington Group International a $260 million contract to design and build the line along existing Union Pacific Railroad right of way from Los Angeles’ Union Station to Pasadena, Calif.

The project involves construction of 13.7 miles of double track, two cut-and-cover tunnels, 13 stations and a maintenance facility at Union Station.

An interim notice to proceed was issued in early October; the venture expects contract execution and full notice to proceed in December. The design phase would begin immediately, with construction completion planned for mid-2003.

Construction of the Blue Line stopped in late 1997 when Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority’s then-Interim Chief Executive Officer Julian Burke put the project temporarily on hold to bring the agency’s finances under control.

In January 1999, California State Bill 1847 authorized Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority to design, procure and construct the light-rail segment. Upon completion, MTA management would operate the line.