The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors approved a $798 million funding amendment with the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority last week to fund the Pomona to Montclair segment of the Metro A Line extension.

Once complete, Metro A Line will provide light rail access from the edge of San Bernardino County to inner Los Angeles County.

The board’s action, if ratified, will clear the way for the construction of stations in Claremont and Montclair and the final 3.2-mile-long portion of light railway for the Metro A Line extension. The move comes eight days after the Metro Board Construction Committee unanimously approved the funding agreement and sent the item for board approval.

Per the funding agreement terms, Metro will tap the State of California Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant to pay for its portion of the project while the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority will dedicate $80 million of state and local funding for its portion.

Representatives from the construction authority, the Gold Line Phase 2 Joint Powers Authority, and the Foothill Gold Line Technical Advisory Committee, were on hand at Metro headquarters on October 31 to deliver positive remarks.

“Completing this project is essential to the future of this corridor and to the region,” said Construction Authority Board Chair and Claremont City Council member Ed Reece. “This project will expand mobility with reliable and sustainable transit, reducing emissions and improving quality of life for all. We sincerely appreciate Metro’s commitment to completing this number one priority project.”

The first portion of the Metro A Line extension project, which will connect Azusa to Pomona via a 9.1-mile-long light railway system, broke ground in December 2017 and is nearing its early 2025 completion. The final 3.2-mile portion of the project has remained in limbo due to funding shortfalls.

“The Construction Authority is currently underway to hire the design-build team for the shovel-ready project,” read a news release. “The Authority expects to award a contract in Spring 2025 and break ground later in the year. The final project segment will complete the Foothill Gold Line’s 25-station system, being built in four construction segments.”

“Next year will be an historic year for the Foothill Gold Line, and I am incredibly proud of the progress we are making,” Reece said. “In addition to completing construction on the four-station project segment from Glendora to Pomona the first week of 2025; the Construction Authority will also be able to break ground on the final segment — bringing us one major step closer to completing the agency’s legislative mandate.”

“I want to thank the Metro Board who made completing the Foothill Gold Line from Pomona to Montclair Metro’s number one priority for new state funding last year, and for maintaining that priority after the state legislature and Governor Newsom approved a total of $1 billion for transit capital projects for Los Angeles County over the last two budget cycles,” Construction Authority Chief Executive Officer Habib Balian wrote in an email.

For more info, visit foothillgoldline.org.