L.A. council OKs local funds for rail station options on Crenshaw/LAX Line

The Los Angeles City Council yesterday approved using $55 million from Measure R local return funds to help build Leimert Park and Hindry rail stations on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (LACMTA) Crenshaw/LAX Line.

About $40 million would go toward the Leimert Park station and $15 million toward the Hindry station, according to a LACMTA blog post.

In the past, the agency has estimated the cost to build the Leimert Park station at $131 million and Hindry station near Westchester at $15 million. The Leimert station would be located underground at Crenshaw Boulevard and 43rd Place; the Hindry station would be located at street level at Florence Avenue and Hindry Avenue.

Both stations are considered options for the Crenshaw/LAX Line project. As part of the bidding process, LACMTA is seeking a construction firm that would build both stations within the project's overall $1.76 billion budget, the blog stated. If that isn't possible and other funding is necessary, LACMTA's board decided previously that the Leimert Station would have priority.

The board could vote as early as June to award a construction contract.