Board picks potential firm to build Pomona-to-Montclair light rail extension

Just three days after receiving state funding, the board overseeing the A Line light rail extension into Claremont and San Bernardino County chose a contractor to consider for the project at its meeting in Monrovia on Thursday, July 11.

The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority Board voted 4-0 to work with Kiewit Infrastructure West Co., which it deemed most qualified to build the 3.2-mile extension from Pomona to Claremont and across county lines to Montclair, with the eastern terminus at the Montclair Transit Center.

In the next few months the Authority will send Kiewit an official request for the work.

After negotiations, a contract is scheduled to be awarded in spring of 2025, with completion of the project in 2030, the Authority reported. The work includes design-build services, which includes the relocation of existing rail, design and construction of a new light-rail system, and other work between the Pomona station and the city of Montclair.

The action by Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority Board comes some 13 years after state legislators gave the board the authority to build the A Line, formerly known as the Gold Line, across county lines.

It will become the first LA Metro rail line to connect Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County.

“It is a milestone to connect to another county,” said LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins during an interview on Wednesday, July 10.

The A Line is the longest in the U.S., running from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, Chinatown, Pasadena, Monrovia, Duarte (City of Hope) and Azusa. The line is being extended 9.1 miles and will include stations in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona. That extension is nearly done and set for completion on Jan. 3.

Since the Pomona, Claremont and Montclair light-rail stations already include separate but adjoining stations for the heavy, passenger rail line of Metrolink, this doubles the transit opportunities for Inland Empire commuters, Wiggins said.

“It will present the opportunity to have light rail and commuter rail options,” Wiggins said. “It recognizes that one size doesn’t fit all.”

A synergy between light rail and Metrolink at Montclair, Claremont and Pomona would add about 2,000 Metrolink passengers a day, said Montclair City Manager Edward Starr.

The Metrolink diesel-powered train goes from San Bernardino to Los Angeles’ Union Station with much fewer stops than light rail. Wiggins emphasized the A Line will connect Inland Empire riders to job centers in the San Gabriel Valley and downtown Los Angeles. Metrolink fares are much higher and the waits are about one to two hours between trains, Starr said.

The A line, like most L.A. Metro light rail lines, has waits that range from between 8 minutes to 15 minutes. The regular fare is $1.75, with reduced fares for seniors, disabled, low-income riders and free fares for K-14 students.

The Claremont and Montclair stations would add 8,000 daily boardings, or about half of the A Line’s total adjusted ridership, reports estimated.

Commuters from the Inland Empire who drive west on the 210, 10 and 60 freeways in the morning to jobs in Los Angeles County, and then drive east home would have a light rail line to ride instead of driving on traffic-choked freeways.

Extending the light rail line into Montclair would take about 15,000 car trips off the roads each day and reduce 26.7 million vehicle miles travelled annually, eliminating 1.75 metric tons of carbon emissions that add to global climate change, the Authority reported.

“We will have the longest light rail system in the world crossing two counties,” said Ed Reece, Claremont City council member and Authority board chair. “It will make a significant life-changing impact, not just for Claremont and Montclair, but for the people of the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley.”

Tim Sandoval, mayor of Pomona, a member of the Construction Authority board as well as the LA Metro board, noted the years of being denied funding and the “ups and downs.” Yet Sandoval praised local legislators and LA Metro for helping the project acquire $500 million on Monday from the California State Transportation Agency. Funds will reach close to $800 million by next year for a project expected to cost $798 million, the Authority reported.

“I was expecting balloons, or perhaps a cake to celebrate this momentous occasion,” Sandoval joked during Thursday’s board meeting. “Minus confetti, cake and balloons, we can celebrate this milestone,” he added.

Habib Balian, the construction authority’s chief executive officer, stayed cautious, saying the authority needs to negotiate with Kiewit and make sure the bid is within its budget. Plus, there are agreements with LA Metro, who will operate the line, and the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, that must be signed.

“There is no cake and balloons yet. There’s a lot of work to do but we are over the moon about this,” said Balian.

When the contract was awarded for the foothills extension, it was scheduled to go all the way to Montclair. But it ran out of money in 2019, so it would only get built to Pomona. The state rejected the needed gap funding in 2021, 2022 and 2023 despite large surpluses in the state budget.

With funding to reach Montclair now committed, Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, an alternate on the Construction Authority board who attended Thursday’s meeting, was talking about an extension from Montclair to Ontario International Airport.

“We are doing what we can to keep that dream alive,” he said.