Major construction on Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX transit line (Crenshaw Line) is set to begin May 2 as crews build underground stations 80 feet beneath Crenshaw Boulevard, and motorists in the area should expect some detours.
The light-rail line project at Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards will require a 15-hour road closure for crews to set up a new traffic configuration, according to Metro. The configuration is designed to reduce the impact on traffic, said Charles Beauvoir, the project director for the Crenshaw Line.
“We’re taking a lot of measures to make sure we are minimizing the impact,” Beauvoir said.
The work on the traffic configuration between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Stocker Street is set to begin 10 p.m. Friday and continue through 1 p.m. Sunday. Concrete barriers will be placed on the eastside of Crenshaw Boulevard to separate the work area from the street traffic, Metro officials said.
On Friday, traffic will be diverted as part of the first phase between Jefferson Boulevard to Vernon Avenue. Motorists traveling south on Crenshaw Boulevard will be detoured left on Jefferson, right at Arlington, right at Vernon, left and back on Crenshaw, according to Metro.
The second phase starting Saturday night will call for diverting traffic between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Stocker Street. Motorists traveling northbound on Crenshaw Boulevard will be detoured left on Stocker Street, right on Santa Rosalia Drive, right on Marlton Avenue, left on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and left on Crenshaw Boulevard.
The bus stop located on the eastside of Crenshaw Boulevard will be temporarily relocated to the southeast corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Stocker Street, officials said.
The start of the project will involve crews building underground stations 80 feet below the surface.
“The activity that is scheduled to occur in that area will be some heavy excavation,” Beauvoir said. “It’s a very deep hole.”
Construction on the Crenshaw Line stations is expected to take four years.
The 8.5-mile Crenshaw Line will connect the Expo and Green Lines.
