LA Metro starts Willowbrook Station improvements

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), federal and state officials last week marked the start of major improvements to the Blue Line's Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station in Willowbrook, California.

The $109 million project is aimed at improving station access, expanding capacity, adding community space and better connecting the station to the surrounding area, Metro officials said in a press release.

The agency is adding a customer service center, transit security center, bike hub and self-cleaning, automated public restrooms. The Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station is the fourth-busiest stop on Metro's rail system, according to the agency.

Other improvements include expanding the Blue Line platform to reduce crowding and adding an overhead canopy. The agency also will upgrade elevators, escalators, stairs and the mezzanine between Blue and Green line platforms.

"The Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station has been used by millions of people over the years and it’s time to prepare the station for many more decades of heavy use," said Metro Board Chair and L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.

Crews will complete early work over the rest of this year. In early January 2019, Metro will close the station for eight to nine months as part of the New Blue project to modernize the Blue Line, which is the agency's oldest light-rail line.