Metro officials plan pedestrian bridge to connect Bob Hope Airport to nearby train station
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking to push forward with its planned pedestrian bridge over Empire Avenue, which would connect the Metrolink station south of the Bob Hope Airport to the airfield’s transportation center.
Don Sepulveda, executive officer for regional rail at Metro, told residents during a community meeting at the airport on Wednesday that the $15.8-million project is currently in its design phase, which is expected to be completed in June. Transportation officials hope to break ground at the site in December.
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The bridge is expected to be completed by December 2018.
The pedestrian bridge is being constructed to better connect — and protect — train passengers who are traveling through the airport. It is proposed to extend from the moving walkway that connects the airfield’s terminal to the transportation center, cross over Empire Avenue and the railroad tracks and connect with the north and south platforms of the Metrolink station via an elevator and a set of stairs.
Sepulveda said that Metro is looking to update the signage at the station, which is sometimes unclear and can make it difficult to navigate the facility.
“The problem is that the station is 25 to 30 years old,” he said. “It hasn’t really grown with the times.”
Metrolink riders currently have to walk across the railroad tracks using an at-grade crossing to get to either the north or south platform. When the bridge is completed, they will no longer need to use the crossing, so Metro plans to install fencing between the tracks, Sepulveda said.
There had been some skepticism from residents regarding whether Metro could pay for the project after the California Transportation Commission in January cut funding for some of the state’s road and transit projects by $754 million over the next five years.
Sepulveda said that the pedestrian bridge project was “not on the chopping block” and has funding through Measure R funds, federal money from the Surface Transportation Uniform Relocation Assistance Act and state funds from the Interregional Transportation Improvement program and Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement and Service Enhancement Account.
There were concerns expressed that the project would not benefit Burbank residents, and that it would be more difficult for them to get to the station from the airport.
Mark Hardyment, director of government and environmental affairs, explained that the project is geared toward encouraging people outside of Burbank to use public transportation, such as Metrolink, to get to the airfield.
“The benefit Burbank residents get from this connection becoming more seamless is that, as it becomes easier for people to use, more people will use it, which means less people will use the public streets and freeways,” he said. “That means the local residents will see less traffic.”
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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
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