Los Angeles breaks ground on a $414 million bus rapid transit line as Inglewood starts a $250 million connector

The Vermont line runs between Sunset Boulevard and 120th Street on the county's busiest bus corridor, which carries more than 38,000 riders on a weekday. Metro's plan adds dedicated lanes, signal priority and pay-before-boarding fare machines, plus shelters, lighting, arrival screens and ADA curb ramps at the 26 stations, along with protected bike lanes and curb extensions. Metro estimates more than 4,800 construction jobs, which California Construction News described as union jobs. Riders will be able to use finished sections of bus lane before the full line opens, Metro said.

A $149.9 million Federal Transit Administration Small Starts grant awarded Sept. 1, together with state money and Measure M sales tax revenue, fully funds the project, MyNewsLA reported. Metro wants buses running on it in time for the Olympics and Paralympics in 2028.

In Inglewood, the city broke ground Oct. 22 where the Market and Florence mobility hub will stand, on the south side of the K Line's Downtown Inglewood Station. Construction starts in November and runs through spring 2028. Phase one builds three hubs along Market Street with more than 1,000 parking spaces, a 10-bay bus plaza and shops at the main hub, a footbridge across Florence Avenue to the K Line, and new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping on Queen Street, Market Street and Manchester Boulevard.

The city dropped an earlier people-mover design after 2024 bids came in above what it could pay, California Construction News reported. Elevate Inglewood Development Company, led by Plenary Americas with Swinerton as builder and Walter P Moore as designer, will design, build and pay for phase one and then run and maintain it, all under one guaranteed-maximum-price contract. State and regional grants, mostly from California's Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, cover the cost with no general fund money and no new tax. The deal sets a goal of 20% participation by small and local businesses.