On Thursday, the Metro Board is expected to vote on the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project, which is expected to ease one of the worst traffic trouble spots in L.A.
Some of the men and women who gathered in front of the Van Nuys City Hall building on Wednesday have been working on the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project for 10 years.
This ambitious plan to connect the San Fernando Valley to West L.A. is one final vote by the Metro Board away from giving the multi-billion-dollar project the go-ahead.
"For the first time, we are committing to a true heavy rail subway that connects the Van Nuys Metrolink station, the G Line, and the east San Fernando Rail Line that's coming soon, that's connecting the community of Van Nuys and all the way to Pacoima," said L.A. City Councilmember Imelda Padilla.
It has yet to be decided if the new rail line will be a monorail or a subway.
According to one traffic study, 400,000 commuters drive between the Valley and the Westside on the 405 Freeway every day. The hope is that whatever is built will ease traffic congestion by 100,000 commuters per day.
In 2016, voters approved Measure M to fund projects like the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project. Metro is working on getting one more major player to help pay for the multi-billion-dollar project.
"I think the big component on groundbreaking is going to be whether our federal government wants to be partners with us in this project. We know this is a transformative project, not only for the San Fernando Valley or the city of Los Angeles, not even for the county of Los Angeles, but for the whole country. So we need our federal government to be investing in this work," said L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
The Metro Board is expected to take the vote and approve the project at its meeting on Thursday morning.