Foothill Gold Line E-News

November 2022

UPDATES: Project 62% Complete; Grade Crossings; Bridge Work; Stations; Light Rail Track Installation; Sound Walls; Project Update Video; Pomona to Montclair Segment Update

This past month, the Construction Authority and KPJV continued to reach new milestones and kept the Glendora to Pomona project on budget and on schedule for an early-January 2025 completion and turnover to Metro. In November, crews reached 62% completion on the overall project, reopened a few more grade crossings, completed another major light rail bridge and installed thousands of feet of light rail tracks – to name a few of the tasks crews have been working on.

Read on below for updates on the construction work completed this past month.

Grade Crossings – Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. Intersection and Fulton Rd. Crossings Reopen

Photos: (top) Crews reconstructing the Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection and (middle) installing the permanent freight track; (bottom) Intersection reopened to motorists and pedestrians

Earlier this month, at the Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection in Glendora, crews utilized a 17-day full intersection closure to complete underground utility work; install the new, permanent freight track across the intersection; remove the supporting falsework and complete the new light rail bridge months earlier than originally planned; and build the new roadways, curbs, gutters and medians (as seen in the photos above). Initially, crews reopened the intersection with limited capacity (one lane in each direction) on November 15, which allowed space for crews to complete additional intersection work. The intersection will be reopen today with all movements available; but please know that some additional work will continue, requiring periodic lane closures.

Photo: Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. intersection open

Similarly, as a reminder, the Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. intersection in San Dimas (see photo above), although now open to motorists and pedestrians, continues to be under a temporary lane configuration with restricted movements through the end of the year to allow crews to safely complete work on the intersection. For more information on the restrictions, click here.

Photo: Fulton Rd. crossing reopen

On October 25, crews completed the work necessary to reopen the Fulton Rd. crossing (as well as the Metrolink station parking entrance on Fulton Rd.) in La Verne/Pomona to motorists and pedestrians. This followed a five-week full closure of the street that allowed crews to install new light rail tracks, complete work on the nearby Thompson Creek bridge and rebuild the roadway and hardscape. No more long-term closures of Fulton Rd. are expected.

Upcoming Closures in Pomona

Just one long-term full closure for crossing reconstruction remains for the project at the Garey Ave. crossing in Pomona. This closure is planned for early 2023 to allow crews to complete the crossing reconstruction work, including track installation, underground utility work, safety improvements and rebuilding the roadway. More details will be shared in upcoming E-News Updates and in a Construction Alert.

In addition, on December 5, crews will permanently close Santa Fe St. and Magnolia St. (south of the railroad tracks) between Garey Ave. and Pine St. in Pomona. Both streets are being permanently closed to become part of the future parking facility for the Pomona Gold Line station. Access to the Metrolink station and parking will be maintained via Grevillia St., Pine St., Fulton Rd. and Arrow Hwy. For more information, click here.

To sign up for Construction Alerts, go to www.foothillgoldline.org.

18 Out of 19 Bridges Now Complete

Virtually all of the freight bridge work is complete, and now the KPJV structures crews are nearing completion on the light rail bridges as well. With the recent completion of work on the new light rail bridge over the Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection in Glendora (more below), just one bridge remains to be completed: the Lone Hill Ave. flyover bridge in Glendora. Overall, 18 of the 19 new or renovated bridges from Glendora to Pomona are now complete. Of the 19, four are light rail bridges that span major streets, and below are updates on those bridges (from west to east):

Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. Light Rail Bridge

Photos: (top) Crews removing the falsework that was supporting the super-structure; (bottom) Crews completing work on the new light rail bridge over Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection

As mentioned earlier, the new light rail bridge over the Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection in Glendora is now the latest bridge to be completed. Over the past month, crews completed all the major and minor concrete pours for the super-structure and other bridge elements; completed work on the bridge walls; and successfully removed the falsework that was supporting the super-structure while under construction. Once the falsework was removed, the custom design for the bridge was visible, as seen in the photo below.

Photo: Completed light rail bridge over Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection

To the west and east of the newly-completed bridge, crews continue to construct the retaining walls for the west and east approaches (see photos below).

Photos: Crews constructing west (top) and east (bottom) approaches for new light rail bridge over Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection

Route 66 Light Rail Bridge

Photos: (top) Completed retaining walls and (bottom) sound wall foundations for west approach to Route 66 light rail bridge

With the new light rail bridge over Route 66 in Glendora complete, crews are now focused on constructing the approaches to the west and east. At the west approach, crews continue to build the foundations for the sound walls that will sit atop the approach, and have recently completed work on the retaining walls (see photos above).

Photo: Crews constructing retaining walls for east approach to Route 66 light rail bridge

To the east, crews recently began constructing the retaining walls for the east approach to the bridge, as seen in the photo above.

Lone Hill Ave. Light Rail Bridge

Photos: Crews pouring concrete for super-structure of new light rail bridge over Lone Hill Ave.

Crews are nearing completion on the project’s largest light rail bridge that spans over Lone Hill Ave. in Glendora. As mentioned earlier, this is the last of 19 new or renovated bridges along the corridor to be completed. In the past two months, crews have completed several major concrete pours for the super-structure, and are now constructing and pouring concrete for smaller elements (such as the barrier walls, emergency walkway and duct bank). As seen in the photos above, crews have been utilizing nighttime lane closures to complete these concrete pours while minimizing impact for commuters during the day.

Photo: Crews running steel cables through super-structure of new light rail bridge over Lone Hill Ave.

With the major concrete pours out of the way, crews have also completed one of the final tasks for the super-structure, which is to strengthen it. As seen in the photo above, this process involves running steel cables through the super-structure from one end to the other, and then tensioning the cables to help reinforce the super-structure and increase its strength.

Construction will continue on the Lone Hill Ave. bridge through early 2023, with long-term lane closures and a few days of full street closures ahead. To learn more, click here.

Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. Light Rail Bridge

Photos: Crews constructing the retaining walls for the west approach to the new light rail bridge over the Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. intersection

As with the two other completed major light rail bridges mentioned above, work on the completed bridge over the Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. intersection in San Dimas is now focused on constructing the approaches to the west and east of the bridge, as seen in the photos above and below. The west approach will stretch from just east of Eucla Ave. to the bridge, while the east approach will go from the bridge to just west of San Dimas Ave., bringing the future light rail trains to street level before reaching the future San Dimas station.

Photos: (top) Crews constructing retaining walls for east approach to new light rail bridge over Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. intersection; (bottom) pedestrian undercrossing and east approach at Monte Vista Ave.

As shown in the bottom photo above, in the middle of the east approach at Monte Vista Ave. is the newly-constructed pedestrian undercrossing that will ultimately sit within the approach and allow pedestrians access north and south through the crossing. While the street was permanently closed to vehicles earlier this year, the pedestrian undercrossing is already in use providing access to and from Bonita Ave. for area neighbors.

To learn more about the new light rail bridge at Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave., click here.

Station Construction Underway

Work is currently more than a quarter complete on the four new light rail stations, all of which will be center platform stations, with a track on each side – one for westbound and one for eastbound trains.

Glendora Station

Photo: Crews installing underground conduit for future Glendora station and light rail system

Crews have completed nearly all of the work on the platform deck for the future Glendora station. Currently, as seen in the photos above, crews are installing underground conduit on both sides of the platform that will house the communications and power lines for the station and light rail system. The Glendora station is located within the corridor between Vermont Ave. and Glendora Ave.

San Dimas Station

Photo: Crews pouring concrete for platform deck of future San Dimas station

At the site of the future San Dimas station, between San Dimas Ave. and Walnut Ave., crews recently completed a series of concrete pours for the deck of the station platform, as seen in the photo above. In addition, crews also continue to construct the walkway ramps that will allow riders access to the future station platform from San Dimas Ave.

La Verne Station

Photo: La Verne station platform with new light rail tracks

Within the corridor between E St. and White Ave. in La Verne, crews have completed nearly all of the work on the platform deck of the future La Verne station. With that work out of the way, crews have also installed the new light rail tracks on both sides of the station platform, as seen in the photo above.

Pomona Station

Photo: Crews installing underground conduit at site of future Pomona station

As seen in the photo above, at the site of the future Pomona station, crews continue to install underground conduit that will house the communications and power lines for the station and light rail system. Once this work is completed, crews will move on to constructing the station platform itself. The Pomona station will be located within the corridor between Fulton Rd. and Garey Ave., adjacent to the existing Pomona North Metrolink station – and allow riders to transfer between the Metro and Metrolink systems.

To learn more about the plans for the future stations, see these fact sheets: Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, and Pomona.

Light Rail Track Installation

Photos: Crews installing new light rail tracks in Glendora

With the freight track relocated and out of the way, crews continue to make use of the newfound space within the corridor to work on the new light rail system, with over 60% of the light rail track installation now complete. As seen in the photos above and below, crews are actively laying new tracks in Glendora, San Dimas and La Verne.

Photos: Crews installing new light rail tracks in San Dimas (top) and La Verne (bottom)

To help the community understand how the new light rail track system is constructed, the Construction Authority released “Building the Light Rail System: A Step by Step Overview.” The six-minute video, which can be viewed using the links below, provides a step-by-step overview of the process. Let us know what you think after you watch it.

Click here or below to play the video

Construction of Sound Walls

Photos: Sound wall installation in Glendora

About 28,000 feet of sound walls are being installed from Glendora to Pomona to reduce noise from trains traveling along the corridor for residential and other noise sensitive neighbors. The sound wall panels are being fabricated locally, before being delivered for installation. As seen above, the sound walls are being built using specialized forms, utilizing custom design patterns that were created by public artist Christie Beniston.

Pomona to Montclair Segment Update

As the Construction Authority continues to make good progress on the Glendora to Pomona segment, work continues on securing funding to complete the final segment of the project from Pomona to Montclair. At today’s Metro December board meeting, the Metro board unanimously agreed to apply for the project’s full funding need as part of a state grant program available for Southern California major transit infrastructure projects, which is funded by surplus dollars from last year’s state budget. As a result of that decision, the Construction Authority and Metro will jointly submit an application to CalSTA for the grant in early December. We expect to hear in late January

We want to thank our state legislators, county supervisors, Construction Authority and Metro board members, and the local organizations who provided letters and spoke in support of funding the project. Their continued support is meaningful and essential to our success in this effort.

To see more of these and other activities that took place this past month, click here or below to watch the latest project highlight video.

Thank you for your continued interest in the Foothill Gold Line. We appreciate your patience as we build this important regional project.

Lisa Levy Buch, Chief Communications and Strategic Development Officer and the Public Affairs Team