By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
INGLEWOOD — The city has received an additional $100 million towards construction of the Inglewood Transit Connector project.
The South Bay Cities Council of Governments voted to re-prioritize more than $100 million originally allocated to fund a proposed Centinela grade separation project, to instead serve as a “backstop” or reserve funding, for the transit connector.
“The entire South Bay has participated in Inglewood’s Renaissance, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the continued support demonstrated by this vote,” Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr said. “We aren’t just individual cities; we are managing an ecosystem of transportation solutions designed to propel and support commercial and housing development and economic growth in a way that benefits the entire region.”
With the council of government’s vote, the transit connector, a proposed line still in its planning stages, reaches an important financing milestone. To satisfy financing partners and federal transit authorities, the project must also have substantial reserves beyond the 25-30% contingency already built into the project budget, to be used in the event that unforeseen circumstances arise that require additional funding to complete the project.
“The [transit connector] takes priority,” said El Segundo City Councilman Chris Pimentel, chairman of South Bay Cities Council of Governments. “This reinforces the ability of the project to move forward and help achieve the regional benefit of fixing the traffic and congestion around the venues which serves all of our communities and beyond.”
Butts submitted the motion to the South Bay Cities Council of Governments Transportation Committee on March 13.
The planned project was for the Centinela Grade Separation on the K-Line at the intersection of Centinela and Florence.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority anticipated the cost to be $300 million but, according to Butts’ motion, the project was not fully funded.
Inglewood submitted a draft motion and draft letter requesting the council of governments join them in a request for the MTA to cancel the Centinela Grade Separation Project and to re-program South Bay Measure M Multi-Year Sub-Regional Equity Program funding currently allocated to the grade separation to create a reserve for contingencies in the Inglewood Transit Connector project funding plan.
In addition to addressing a “first/last” mile gap between the K Line Downtown Inglewood Station and the Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium, Hollywood Park and the Intuit Dome, as well as thousands of housing units and millions of square feet of commercial space that has been created or in the pipeline, the 1.6-mile transit line is anticipated to reduce greenhouse gases through a reduction in millions of vehicle miles traveled and to create thousands of construction and permanent jobs and broader economic investment in a traditionally underserved community.
In redirecting funding to the transit connector, the South Bay Cities Council of Governments has shown that the proposed people mover is a priority solution to address critical traffic and congestion issues in the entire region.
Torrance Mayor and South Bay Cities Council of Governments Director George Chen agreed.
“The Inglewood Transit Connector Project is a critical missing component of our region’s transit system, and we must all work with urgency to move it forward,” he said. “The C-Line Extension to Torrance will connect with this critical project in the near future and provide world class transportation for our residents and the entire region.”
The Inglewood Transit Connector project was initially expected to cost $1.2 billion to construct but has now increased by $400 million. The city of Inglewood has secured roughly $765 million from multiple sources.
Inglewood has received $20 million in federal funds through the Federal Transit Administration RAISE Grant and the Department of Transportation, approximately $512 million in state funds, and $234 million from Los Angeles County taxpayers from Measure M sales tax revenue, which voters approved in November 2016.
Inglewood is still seeking a Federal Capital Improvement Grant and funding from the Entertainment District private owners and financing from project design/construction proposers to complete the funding needed to begin construction.
The city has yet to reveal how it will fund maintenance and daily operations of the line once its built.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
