Regional Connector (Los Angeles Metro)

Regional Connector Transit Corridor
Map of approved route of Regional Connector Corridor.
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	Los Angeles County Metro Rail
Status	Under construction
Locale	Downtown Los Angeles
Termini	7th St/Metro Center Little Tokyo/Arts District
Operation
Planned opening	May 2021 (May 2021)
Owner	Metro Rail
Operator(s)	Metro (LACMTA)
Character	Subway (fully underground)
Route map  Gold Line  Amtrak & Metrolink Union Station US 101 Civic Center Little Tokyo/Arts District moving underground  Gold Line  1st Street/Central Avenue under construction 2nd Street/Broadway under construction 2nd Street/Flower Street under construction Pershing Square 7th St/Metro Center  Red Line / Purple Line   Blue Line / Expo Line  This diagram:

The Regional Connector Transit Corridor (also known as the Regional Connector, Downtown Connector or Downtown Light-Rail Connector) is an under-construction light rail subway corridor through Downtown Los Angeles to connect the Blue and Expo Lines to the current Gold Line and Union Station. When completed, the connector will become part of the Metro Rail system. The project would shift the entire Metro Rail system away from the existing X-shape network topology to a more flexible complex grid.

The project is being implemented by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). It has been given high priority by Metro in its long-range plan and has funding set aside in Measure R.

The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was completed in September 2010 and selection of a preferred alternative was completed in late October 2010. The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) was certified by the Metro Board on April 26, 2012. Pre-construction on the project began in December 2012. The contract for heavy construction on the project was signed on July 9, 2014; the official groundbreaking for heavy construction was held on September 30, 2014. Metro hopes to complete construction and begin revenue service by May 2021.

The connector was envisioned as early as 1984 when planning and building the Metro Blue Line, and restudied with a through connection in the Pasadena Light Rail Corridor studies in 1990. LACMTA originally envisioned the Blue Line running through Downtown L.A. to Union Station and onward to Pasadena with potential future lines to the northwest (Burbank/Glendale) and to the south and west (Exposition Park/Santa Monica). The connector was not completed due to lack of funds and realignment of the Red Line Eastside Extension, which later became an extension of the Pasadena Gold Line.