2023 Gold Line Updates

February 2023

Gold Line Extension to Montclair Derailed Until Alternative Funding Sources are Secured

As part of his budget plan for Fiscal Year 2022-23, Governor Newsom and the State Legislature allocated $2.5 billion in funding for mass transit projects administered through the California State Transportation Agency’s (CalSTA) Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP).

Projects receiving funding must represent critical transportation and provide alternatives to driving with access to a modernized public transit system. Based on the preceding criteria, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) and the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority (Construction Authority) submitted a TIRCP grant application for $790 million to complete the extension of the Gold Line from Pomona to Montclair.

Montclair and its partner agencies had been advised to expect good news about the funding request. However, when funding was announced, the Gold Line Extension to Claremont and Montclair was not included. Regional projects on the TIRCP list include the following:

$600 million for LA Metro’s East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor project
$407 million to help fully fund the Inglewood Transit Connector
$375 million for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension project
$19 million for the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s West Valley Connector Bus Rapid Transit and Zero-Emission Bus Initiative

Montclair will now regroup with its partner agencies to seek alternative funding sources.

State Legislators hold out hope that Governor Newsom will release $2 billion for additional transit projects statewide. A renewed effort would then be made to capture transit dollars for the Gold Line extension to Montclair. At the same time, Governor Newsom has announced his intention to claw back $4 billion in transit dollars to address a projected $24 billion State Budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2023-24, raising concern that additional transit funds will be available this year.

If funding is not developed over the next 18 months, the Gold Line Construction Authority will lose its leverage to negotiate the extension to Montclair within the current procurement contract with Kiewit Parsons Joint Venture (KPJV), which is projected to be at or near completion of the Glendora to Pomona segment in late 2024. In addition, rebidding the extension from Pomona to Montclair will result in significantly higher construction costs, pushing the project well above current funding estimates.

The Construction Authority, legislators, Claremont, and Montclair, continue holding out hope that the Gold Line will be completed to its legislatively mandated terminus at the Montclair Transcenter.

What remains to be determined is the funding sources. If project estimates exceed $1 billion for the extension to Claremont and Montclair, an application may need to be submitted to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). However, an ask for federal dollars may ultimately require expanding the light rail extension to Ontario International Airport, which would not only add billions of dollars to the construction cost but could delay completion to Montclair until the late 2030s.

March 2023

LA Metro Board Affirmed Priority Commitment to Gold Line Completion

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency (LA Metro) Board of Directors affirmed their commitment to completing the Foothill Gold Line to Claremont and Montclair as their priority for current or future state funding opportunities, including state greenhouse gas reduction grant funding and state funds that will be made available in the next two budget cycles as a result of Senate Bill 1986 passing last year.

SB-198. Existing law vests the California Transportation Commission with various powers and duties relative to the programming of transportation capital projects and allocation of funds to those projects pursuant to the state transportation improvement program and other transportation funding programs. SB-198 also allows the California Transportation Commission to award and administer funding to local agencies through the Transportation Infrastructure Climate Adaption Strategy Grant Program. In addition, the commission will identify transportation-related climate vulnerabilities by developing climate adaptation plans and identifying ways to incorporate transportation-related climate adaptation needs into existing transportation plans. The law establishes the Local Transportation Infrastructure Climate Adaptation Project Program, administered by the commission, to develop and implement projects adapting local transportation infrastructure to climate change.

The Gold Line Extension to Montclair qualifies as an eligible program because of the positive impacts it would produce for the State’s climate adaptation plans, including the following:

Add an estimated 7,700+ passenger boardings each weekday to the LA Metro transit system in the opening year, representing more than half of the six-station’s (Glendora to Montclair) total ridership projections. Gold Line ridership growth is projected to increase steadily in succeeding years.
Eliminate an estimated 14,900 car trips each day in the opening year, representing 53% of the six-station’s total projected reductions in car trips.
Eliminate 84,500 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) daily, or 46.4 million VMT annually. The Claremont and Montclair, Gold Line stations are projected to account for nearly 60% of the total VMT reduction estimated for the six stations.
Based on the share of VMT reduction realized by completing the Claremont and Montclair Gold Line stations, the two stations will account for a projected reduction of 1.75 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) over the life of the project ─ eliminating 77,000 lbs. of reactive organic gas (ROG), 357,000 lbs. of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 12,000 lbs. of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and 23,000 lbs. of diesel in one of the smoggiest regions in the United States.
Provide a sustainable, zero-emission alternative to the 2.8 million vehicle trips every day that start, end, or travel between the Foothill Gold Line cities and Western San Bernardino County─only 3 percent of those trips are currently made by transit.

The Metro Board’s decision follows the Gold Line extension project’s recent unsuccessful $798 million Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant request to the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).

The LA Metro board directed the agency’s staff to advocate for full funding of SB-198 and seek other opportunities to help fill the project’s funding gap in LA County. The portion of the project in San Bernardino County is funded with approximately $80 million through the San Bernardino County Transportation Agency (SBCTA).

Metro and Foothill Gold Line Board Member, Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval, Metro Directors, and Los Angeles County Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Hilda Solis led the board action. Metro Chair and Glendale Council Member Ara Najarian also participated in the successful motion.

Members of the public who spoke on behalf of the motion included the following Construction Authority board members and stakeholders: Construction Authority Board Chair and Claremont Mayor Ed Reece; Board Member and La Verne Mayor Tim Hepburn; Board Alternate and Montclair Council Member Bill Ruh; the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership’s Director of Public Policy, Nayiri Baghdassarian; and Citrus College’s Executive Director of Communications and External Relations, Melissa Utsuki.

Letters of support were sent to the Metro board by Congress Members Judy Chu and Grace Napolitano; a delegation of state officials including State Senators Anthony Portantino and Susan Rubio; Assembly Members Chris Holden, Freddie Rodriguez, and Blanca Rubio; and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.

Montclair is grateful for the continuing regional effort to support completing the Gold Line Extension to Claremont and Montclair.

April 2023

City of Montclair Advocacy Trip to Washington, D.C.

Mayor John Dutrey, Mayor Pro Tem Tenice Johnson, and Council Member Corysa Martinez met with Congress Members Norma Torres and Judy Chu, staff representatives for Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla and Congressman Adam Schiff to discuss Gold Line support and funding. Below is a summary of the Montclair team’s intense, 2.5-day meetings.

The Montclair Team asked Congresswoman Norma Torres to spearhead a joint congressional letter with Congress Members Chu, Napolitano, and Schiff, urging the Foothill Gold Line Extension Construction Authority (Construction Authority) and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) to maintain the Gold Line Extension from Pomona to Montclair as their top priority transit project and, if necessary, to consider federalizing the project in the event state funding does not develop. Congresswoman Torres agreed to take the lead on the letter, to be prepared by the City Manager’s Office. In addition, Congresswoman Torres indicated frustration with the lack of progress in completing the Gold Line extension to Montclair. She was disappointed that the project did not secure funding from the state’s $96 billion surplus budget during Fiscal Year 2022-23.
Congresswoman Judy Chu expressed support for completing the Gold Line Extension to Montclair and indicated a willingness to sign a Congressional Joint Letter to LA Metro and the Construction Authority advocating for the project.
Jamie Thompson/Transportation Director, Office of Congressman Adam Schiff, indicated that Congressman Adam Schiff, regarded as the Grandfather of the extension of the Gold Line east of Los Angeles, would agree to a Congressional Letter to LA Metro and the Construction Authority advocating for the extension from Pomona to Montclair.
Joseph Ciccone/Legislative Director, Office of Representative Grace Napolitano indicated that Congresswoman Grace Napolitano would be agreeable to signing on to a Congressional Letter to LA Metro and the Construction Authority advocating for the project.
Freda Pachter/Transportation Director, Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein indicated that Senator Feinstein would be willing to consider introducing a separate letter urging the Construction Authority and LA Metro to maintain the Gold Line extension from Pomona to Montclair as their top priority transit project and to consider federalizing the project in the event state funding does not develop. Ms. Pachter asked to be kept informed regarding Congresswoman Torres’ actions in this regard.
Sam Mahood, Transportation Director, and Andrew Baratta, Transportation Aide Office of Senator Alex Padilla, indicated that Senator Padilla would be willing to consider introducing a separate letter (or joint letter with Senator Feinstein) urging the Construction Authority and LA Metro to maintain the Gold Line extension from Pomona to Montclair as their top priority transit project and to consider federalizing the project in the event state funding does not develop. Misters Mahood and Baratta asked to be kept informed regarding Congresswoman Torres’ actions in this regard.

June 2023

Will funding be available in California’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget for the extension of the Gold Line to Montclair?

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency (LA Metro) Board of Directors affirmed their commitment to complete the Foothill Gold Line to Claremont and Montclair as their first priority for any current or future state funding opportunities, including state greenhouse gas reduction grant funding and state funds that will be made available in the next two budget cycles as a result of Senate Bill 198 passing last year.

What is SB-198? Existing law vests the California Transportation Commission with various powers and duties relative to the programming of transportation capital projects and allocating funds to those projects according to the state transportation improvement program and various other transportation funding programs. SB-198 establishes the Transportation Infrastructure Climate Adaptation Strategy Grant Program as a competitive grant program to be awarded and administered by the department to provide funding to local agencies to identify transportation-related climate vulnerabilities through the development of climate adaptation plans and to identify ways to incorporate transportation-related climate adaptation needs into existing transportation plans. The law establishes the Local Transportation Infrastructure Climate Adaptation Project Program, to be administered by the commission, to develop and implement projects adapting local transportation infrastructure to climate change.

The Gold Line Extension to Montclair qualifies as an eligible program because of the positive impacts it would produce for the State’s climate adaptation plans, including the following:

Add an estimated 7,700+ passenger boarding each weekday to the LA Metro transit system in the opening year, representing more than half of the six-station’s (Glendora to Montclair) total ridership projections. Gold Line ridership growth is projected to increase in succeeding years steadily.
Eliminate an estimated 14,900 car trips each day in the opening year, representing 53% of the six-station’s total projected reductions in car trips.
Eliminate 84,500 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) daily, or 46.4 million VMT annually. The Claremont and Montclair Gold Line stations, are projected to account for nearly 60% of the total VMT reduction estimated for the six stations.
Based on the share of VMT reduction realized by completing the Claremont and Montclair Gold Line stations, the two stations will account for a projected reduction of 1.75 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) over the life of the project ─ eliminating 77,000 lbs. of reactive organic gas (ROG), 357,000 lbs. of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 12,000 lbs. of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and 23,000 lbs. of diesel in one of the smoggiest regions in the United States.
Provide a sustainable, zero-emission alternative to the 2.8 million vehicle trips every day that start, end, or travel between the Foothill Gold Line cities and Western San Bernardino County ─ only 3 percent of those trips are currently made by transit.

The Metro Board’s prioritization decision follows the Gold Line extension project’s unsuccessful application for a $798 million Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant request, submitted in December 2022 to the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).

In prioritizing the Gold Line extension to Claremont and Montclair, the LA Metro board directed the Agency’s staff to advocate for full funding of SB-198 and seek other opportunities to help fill the project’s funding gap in Los Angeles County. The portion of the project in San Bernardino County (from the Los Angeles County-San Bernardino County border to the Montclair Transcenter) is at or near full funding—the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) controls approximately $80 million for Gold Line construction; any additional funding for the San Bernardino County side of the project would come through a state grant.

Funding to complete the Gold Line Extension to Claremont and Montclair again became a focus of deliberation by State Legislators planning the final version of California’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 state budget—with a projected $32 billion shortfall in revenue. It was widely presumed that a number of programs and projects would be eliminated during the final stages of budget negotiations between the Governor and Legislative leaders.

State Legislators supporting the Gold Line and other transit projects managed to include $4 billion in transit funding, including potential funding for the Gold Line extension to Claremont and Montclair through SB 198 sources. However, with a June 28, 2023 deadline looming, Governor Newsom and Legislative negotiators appeared to be in a stalemate over streamlining language related to the Delta Conveyance Project and other infrastructure projects—a stalemate that threatened to eliminate transit funding from the budget.

The Delta Conveyance Project aims to make the State Water Project, which provides water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland, less vulnerable to rising seas, earthquakes, extreme droughts, and precipitation shifts of climate change. The massive tunnel system would transport water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to agencies and irrigation districts in the San Joaquin Valley, Southern California, the Central Coast, and the Bay Area.

On Monday, June 26, Governor Newsom and Legislative leaders agreed to a $310.8 billion Budget spending plan that reflects a compromise on the Governor’s infrastructure projects. Among other aspects, the Budget deal preserves transit funding—including funding for Senate Bill 198, but removes the delta tunnel project from the package while retaining measures to reduce delays to other major projects due to legal challenges under CEQA. The deal also grows the state budget reserves to a record $38 billion while preserving historic investments in public education, healthcare, climate, and public safety.

The final budget deal is promising for the Gold Line extension to Claremont and Montclair. The funding is available for construction of the project. LA Metro and the Foothill Gold Line Extension Construction Authority must submit for funding through the TIRCP or SB-198 competitive grant process. If LA Metro does receive transit funding, the Gold Line extension to Claremont and Montclair remains the priority project for available state funding.

August 2023

New state funds could boost Metro rail projects, including Gold Line to Montclair: New process allocates ‘rescue dollars’ directly to transit agencies to decide how to use them, not the state.

The following is a reprint of a story that was published on Saturday, August 25, 2023, in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

It’s nervous time again for LA Metro, now that a door has swung open that provides funds for unfinished rail projects — extra dollars that will come from a transportation rescue program in the recently adopted state budget.

Initial guidelines released August 18 say the state is prepared to dole out $5.1 billion from two key funding pots, $4 billion from the Transit Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) and $1.1 billion from a line item for zero-emission programs.

LA Metro is estimated to receive $1.32 billion spread over this fiscal year and next year. Metro is slated to receive the largest allocation of 49 regional transit agencies in the state. The second-highest amount would go to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees planning, financing and transit projects in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, according to documents from the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).

Other Southern California transit agencies slated to receive funding are: Orange County Transportation Authority, $381 million; Riverside County Transportation Commission, $287 million and San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, $259 million.

In February, local officials learned that two LA Metro light-rail projects were shut out of the TIRCP funding cycle, the 3.2-mile extension of the Gold Line (now A Line) from Pomona to Claremont and Montclair, and the misnamed West Santa Ana Branch that will run from downtown Los Angeles to Artesia. These were left off the funding ledger despite CalSTA awarding $2.5 billion to 16 transit projects in the state.

The failure of the two projects to receive a dime was a shock to many, especially when the agency prioritized the environmentally-cleared, fully designed and ready to build Foothill Gold Line extension ($798 million) as No. 2, and included the West Santa Ana Branch ($500 million) in its application. The state’s decision to deny funding to the two projects evoked an uproar from many Metro board members, supporters in Claremont, Montclair, and state legislators representing San Gabriel Valley.

Only one Metro project received state funding, the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail project ($600 million), while the Inglewood people-mover project, submitted by the city and not by LA Metro, received its full asking grant of $407 million.

The newest round of funding puts the spotlight on the foothill Gold Line (A Line) extension once again, which has come close but lost out in three consecutive state funding cycles, leaving the project, planned for three decades, in jeopardy.

If funded, LA Metro and the Metro Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority would make history by building the first light-rail line that crosses into San Bernardino County from L.A. County.

Completion to Montclair would take about 15,000 car trips off the roads each day and would annually reduce the miles traveled by 26.7 million vehicle miles, studies show. Transportation planners say the project would lessen traffic on the 210, 10 and 60 Freeways in Los Angeles County, which are filled morning and afternoon with commuters from the Inland Empire.

Officials say the 25-station cross-county light-rail line extension, which will run from Pomona to Long Beach starting in early 2025 when the ongoing Azusa-to-Pomona extension is completed, may have a better chance of being funded this time because of changes in CalSTA rules.

In the new round, the state is not taking project applications. The agencies do not have to justify one project over another. Instead, the money will be allocated to the agencies based on population, CalSTA reported. LA Metro serves 10 million people, the largest of the regional agencies.

“Transit agencies do not apply for this funding for specific projects through a competitive grant process,” wrote Marty Greenstein, CalSTA representative on Thursday, August 24 in an emailed response.

“In the last cycle, you applied for grants and they (projects) were evaluated. Some got funding and some did not. This is a different animal,” Greenstein said in an interview on Thursday.

In a rating sheet released in March for the previous funding cycle in response to a public records act request by this newspaper, CalSTA said the agency spread out funding using geography and that was one reason why two LA Metro projects were not funded.

This time, a generalized allocation application must be submitted to ensure the agency will use the money to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, get cars off the roads, expand and improve transit service, add public transit riders and integrate rail lines with other rail operations, according to CalSTA.

For this cycle, the local transit agencies — not CalSTA — will decide how to use the funding, Greenstein said. Because LA Metro in March made the Gold Line extension into Montclair its No. 1 priority for state funding, it may become Metro’s top choice for funding.

“The shovel-ready Pomona to Montclair final segment fulfills the requirements set out in the draft guidelines and is an important regional project that could be completed in five years utilizing the new state funding; allowing this transformational zero-emission light rail system to quickly connect Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire,” wrote Habib Balian, CEO of the Gold Line Construction Authority in an email.

Balian concluded, “In March, the Metro board unanimously reaffirmed the Foothill Gold Line from Pomona to Montclair as their number one priority for any new state transit capital funding. We are hopeful that Metro will utilize these new funds to complete the Foothill Gold Line.”

Montclair Mayor John Dutrey was cautiously optimistic. However, he was concerned about other factors. First, the state budget allocation allows the money to be used to plug funding gaps in transit operations, taking away from capital projects. Second, the cost of the final Montclair leg has risen from more than $600 million to $740 million to $798 million due to inflation.

“Hopefully that won’t go up again,” he said.

Dutrey acknowledged the foothill Gold Line reaching the Montclair Transit Center in western San Bernardino County and serving Inland Empire residents has a strong chance of finally being funded. “But I’m being cautious. I am not celebrating. I won’t celebrate until we have the ground-breaking ceremony,” he said on Friday, August 25.

The responses by each agency are due December 31. Funding will be released no later than April 30, 2024, according to CalSTA.

Documents and forms