Next week’s Greenbuild Conference & Expo in Los Angeles will include its first-ever program specifically for an infrastructure project, the Expo Light Rail Phase 2, which completes the public transit connection between L.A. and Santa Monica, Calif.
The 6.6-mile project is an extension of the existing 80-station Metro Rail system across L.A. County. The extension adds seven at-grade stations between Culver City and Santa Monica.
Phase 2 has been designed to minimize their environmental impact. This is the first transit project—and, at more than $700 million, the largest project at contract value—to achieve Envision Platinum certification from the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure.
Administered by ISI, Envision consists of a broad range of criteria that address a project’s impact on the surrounding community and environment, technical considerations regarding materials and processes, and other critical choices spanning the project’s lifecycle.
A joint venture between Skanska and Steve P. Rados Construction started this project in 2012. The extension opened on May 20, 2016. The rail line now connects the city of Los Angeles to its beaches in approximately 46 minutes. The system also integrates with other means of transit, such as buses and nearly five miles of parallel bike paths.
Skanska USA Civil has committed that, by 2020, all of its projects will seek Envision certification.
Greenbuild attendees will be able to tour the project at 8 a.m. on Monday, October 3.
The total cost of Expo Light Rail Phase 2 was $1.6 billion, funded in large part by Measure R, passed in 2008, a 30-year, half-cent sales tax increase that kickstarted a public transit construction boom. When the Metro’s Regional Connector subway is completed, around 2021, Expo will link East Los Angeles to downtown Santa Monica.
Related Stories
| Dec 17, 2010
Subway entrance designed to exude Hollywood charm
The Hollywood/Vine Metro portal and public plaza in Los Angeles provides an entrance to the Red Line subway and the W Hollywood Hotel. Local architect Rios Clementi Hale Studio designed the portal and plaza to flow with the landmark theaters and plazas that surround it.
| Nov 3, 2010
Sailing center sets course for energy efficiency, sustainability
The Milwaukee (Wis.) Community Sailing Center’s new facility on Lake Michigan counts a geothermal heating and cooling system among its sustainable features. The facility was designed for the nonprofit instructional sailing organization with energy efficiency and low operating costs in mind.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community college plans new campus building
Construction is moving along on Hudson County Community College’s North Hudson Campus Center in Union City, N.J. The seven-story, 92,000-sf building will be the first higher education facility in the city.
| Oct 12, 2010
Building 13 Naval Station, Great Lakes, Ill.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and constructed in 1903, Building 13 is one of 39 structures within the Great Lakes Historic District at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.
| Sep 13, 2010
World's busiest land port also to be its greenest
A larger, more efficient, and supergreen border crossing facility is planned for the San Ysidro (Calif.) Port of Entry to better handle the more than 100,000 people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border there each day.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Steel Joist Institute announces 2009 Design Awards
The Steel Joist Institute is now accepting entries for its 2009 Design Awards. The winning entries will be announced in November 2009 and the company with the winning project in each category will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship in its name to a school of its choice for an engineering student.
| Aug 11, 2010
SSOE, Fluor among nation's largest industrial building design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Industrial Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
