Saturday rail news:
— Construction issues will delay the opening of LA Metro’s light rail Crenshaw line until mid-2021, two years later than originally planned. The Los Angeles Times reports that problems include settling of walls that are supposed to support a bridge near downtown Inglewood, and issues with the steel rebar in concrete slabs used to anchor the tracks on bridges and in tunnels. The incorrectly installed rebar is in “a few hundred locations,” program management officer Rick Clarke told the times. The $2.06 billion project is building an 8.5-mile line connecting the existing Expo and Green lines and will eventually serve LA International Airport.
— The economic disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic may halt San Diego’s plans for a half-cent sales tax to expand bus and light rail transit. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the $24-billion plan known as ElevateSD was to go to voters this November, but securing the two-thirds approval of voters now seems unlikely. Nathan Fletcher, chairman of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System board, told the newspaper, “ElevateSD is on hold as we all work together to get through this trying time and ensure the safety and health of all our transit workers and users.” The agency has until early August to submit the measure for inclusion on the November ballot.
— Work has begun to move the former Illinois Central locomotive and caboose displayed at the Homewood, Ill., Railroad Park, adjacent to Homewood’s Metra and Amtrak station. The Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle reports the equipment will relocated to make room for a new parking lot that is part of an extensive station remodeling. The engine and caboose will end up just north of the new lot.
