Angelenos have been wild with pride since the IOC announced Los Angeles as its host city for the 2028 Summer Olympics. But with a large expectancy of attendees and a plan to host events all over the county, some residents have expressed concerns about the logistics of this celebrated, quadrennial event—most importantly, how the Games will affect L.A.’s notoriously congested roads.
Fortunately, L.A. Metro plans to expand its services to offer a convenient, alternate mode of transportation, and to mobilize roads and highways, with help from voter-approved Measure M and Measure R. From infrastructure face-lifts to public transportation updates, L.A. Metro’s projects will prepare the City of Angels for the Olympic Torch’s arrival on Southern California soil.
CRENSHAW/LAX LINE
This rail system project will extend the current Metro Expo line at Crenshaw and Exposition Boulevards an additional 8.5 miles. Currently expected to finish in 2019, this improvement aims to extend service to Crenshaw, Inglewood, Westchester, and other unincorporated portions of L.A. County. Not only will it provide an alternate mode of travel to the freeways, it will provide an easy transfer point to LAX at Aviation Boulevard & 96th Street, as well as access to many L.A. Metro connections. Olympic audience members will be able to commute all the way to the South Bay Sports Park and catch a variety of water events.
AUTOMATED PEOPLE MOVER
The transfer point planned for Aviation & 96th will lead commuters to the most awaited development in Los Angeles’s transportation system: the Automated People Mover. This aerial train system will feature 6 stations connecting a community of amenities, short wait times, and seamless connections to the larger L.A. Metro system to make the nightmare of travelling to and from the airport a thing of the past. Visitors coming from the airport for the Olympics can utilize this modern addition to navigate throughout the county.
DOWNTOWN REGIONAL CONNECTOR
Those travelling from the outskirts of Los Angeles will now have easier access to Downtown and beyond. The 1.9-mile Downtown Regional Connector, planned for 2021 completion, will condense the Blue, Expo, and Gold lines into two: one from Long Beach to Azusa, and another from East L.A. to Santa Monica. Dubbed by L.A. Metro as their “missing link”, this addition will create 3 new stations and decrease the transfers needed to get to and through Downtown. From here, Olympic spectators can make their way to the Olympic Village, Pauley Pavilion, and Downtown Sports Park.
BUS RAPID TRANSIT ON VERMONT AVENUE
The ceremonial pomp and circumstances will be held at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, where the previous Olympic Games have been honored in L.A. back in 1932 and 1984. To encourage everyone to partake in and better serve all who are attending the ceremonies, L.A. Metro plans on installing a Bus Rapid Transit line adjacent to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. These rapid bus transits have their own dedicated lanes separate from cars, and will help lessen the congestion on one of L.A. Metro’s heavily trafficked route.
Although the Olympics won’t arrive for a number of years, brace yourself for major transportation and infrastructure improvements to benefit the visitors of the L.A. Olympics, but even more so, the Los Angeles community well past the Closing Ceremony. We will continue to follow the progress of these projects, so be sure to return for more updates as 2028 draws nearer.
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