Beverly Hills Offers Metro Alternative Routes to Constellation Boulevard

At  with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, the city of Beverly Hills presented three options for reaching a subway station on Constellation Boulevard in Century City that do not require tunneling under .

Robert McMurry from Gilchrist & Rutter, who was commissioned by Beverly Hills, explained the alternative routes for the Century City portion of the Westside Subway Extension. The project is an expansion of the Purple Line to Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood and the Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Many Beverly Hills civic leaders and residents support the subway but are , while others in Century City and Los Angeles have  of Metro's planned route, which calls for a subway going under the school.

For all the newly proposed alignment options, the Constellation Boulevard station would have to move farther west: 

Option 1

• This alignment bends southwest to avoid the 10000 Santa Monica Boulevard site. The advantages are that it passes below the least amount of structures, would go beneath relatively shallow depths of identified foundations and/or parking levels, and does not interfere with planned construction at the 10000 Santa Monica Boulevard site. The disadvantages include relatively tight curves below these structures (there is an increased risk of large/unacceptable ground settlement in tight-radius curves) and the unknown foundation elements at one building it would go under.

Option 2

• This alignment bends southwest with a relatively shallow curve compared to Option 1. The advantages are that it passes below most structures on a straight tunnel alignment with less risk (versus a tightly curved tunnel alignment) of excessive ground loss and settlement, goes beneath structures with relatively shallow depths of identified foundations and/or parking levels, and could accommodate a portion of the Constellation station (either crossover or station proper) in the vacant lot planned for construction staging of the project. The disadvantages include that it passes below the 10000 Santa Monica Boulevard site, the unknown foundation elements at one building it would go under, it's the farthest western relocation of Constellation station, and there are possible limitations to future development of the vacant corner lot at Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars.

Option 3

• This alignment bends southwest with a curve relatively similar to Option 1. The advantage is that it provides the farthest east relocation of the Constellation station. The disadvantages include that it passes below the 1000 Santa Monica Boulevard site, underlies the most structures, curves beneath the most structures, and the unknown foundation elements at three buildings it would go under.

To see images of the three alternative routes, click through the gallery to the right. 

Do you think any of these three options would work? Tell us in the comments section below.