Metro Line D (also known as the Purple Line) reopened Saturday after 70 days of construction of the first phase of the railway expansion project under Wilshire Boulevard.
The first phase of the expansion project is $3.7 billion, with three stations added to Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega to connect downtown Los Angeles to the West Side.
Metro said the phase has been completed by 98% and is expected to open later in 2025. Stations are completed, street repairs and testing are retained.
During the recent closure, the transit agency has worked to connect communication and power systems between existing lines and new sections. According to the transport company, the section has already installed tracks, lighting has been installed, and the section has completed the tunnel.
“Now, employees and contractors are working 24/7, connecting the older parts of the subway with the latest parts … to ensure that all power systems, train control, ventilation and signaling work as a common and safe system,” Fernando Dutra, chairman of the Metro Board, said at a board meeting on Thursday.
The route between downtown Los Angeles and the town of South Korea is the worst-used subway, with an average of more than 65,000 people boarding the plane every day. The project will add seven radio stations more than a decade ago and expand to projects breaking ground for Hancock Park, Century City, Beverly Hills and Westwood. The goal of the subway is to be completed at the 2028 Summer Olympics.
“We are now opening this game-changing metro expansion project at home, which will go as planned,” Dutra said.
The second phase will include Wilshire/Rodeo and Century City/Constellation Station, which is expected to open in 2026. The last part of the Westwood/UCLA and Westwood/VA hospital station was inserted into the opening in 2027.
Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said the line D closure has caused the recent drop in passenger volumes in the subway, with ongoing immigration attacks in Los Angeles County falling 13.5% since May, according to Metro Data. The June boarding decline was the Transportation Bureau’s annual low and the lowest record in June since 2022.
During the closure, riders rely on an expanded B-line service, which shares D-line from Union Station to Wilshire/Vermont, as well as shuttle service from Koreatown.
