Expo Line extension reaches 90 percent completion

PALMS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles city and county officials celebrated another milestone Monday, as a train pulled in to the newly built Palms station in Metro's Expo Line extension.

The Expo Line is now 90 percent complete. The entire $860 million project aims to connect downtown Los Angeles with the beach.

The project has endured delays and cost overruns, but supporters say the Expo Line is an integral part of the city's future.

Mayor Eric Garcetti hopes the Expo Line will reduce the traffic on the 10 Freeway or on clogged Westside streets.

Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin, who represents West Los Angeles, remembers when light rail was an unpopular topic.

"That has changed. Traffic has gotten so intolerable that folks are clamoring for this. Every single day, someone's asking me when is this going to open," Bonin said.

Several of the stations on the line are still under construction. The trains will be tested over the next several months, and if everything remains on schedule, the Expo Line will be open by spring 2016.