SGV Connect 128: Habib Balian

SGV Connect

With the Foothill Gold Line Extension to Pomona at 90 percent completion, SGV Connect pays another visit to the Construction Authority’s office to chat with chief executive officer Habib Balian. The podcast can be found below, but you can read a transcript of it by clicking here. For clarity’s (or maybe confusion’s) sake, we are of course referring to the thrice renamed Metro “A Line.”

Since 2020, tracks have been laid and station platforms have been poured from Glendora to Pomona. Now those stations really look like stations, and the last leg of the route has been funded: $798 million to build the last 3.2 miles to Montclair.

2025 is going to be a big year for the light rail line: construction is expected to finish, stations will be dedicated, and hopefully, service will begin. Listen to our interview with Habib Balian, and check out progress pics from our tour of the construction sites! AUDIO PLAYER HERE

A construction crew works on the decorative glass canopy above the ticketing machine at the Glendora Metro A Line station.

The decorative glass canopy above the ticketing machine at the Glendora Metro A Line station.

The ticketing machine at the Glendora Metro A Line station.

The pedestrian tunnel connecting the platform and parking lot at the Glendora Metro A Line station.

The pedestrian tunnel connecting the platform and parking lot at the Glendora Metro A Line station.

The passenger drop off turn out at the La Verne Metro A Line station.

Crews install a wall which will eventually support public art work at the La Verne Metro A Line station.

Crews install the platform roofing at the Pomona Metro A Line Station.

A layover building for train drivers under construction at the Pomona Metro A Line station.

Media relations professional Albert Ho gestures at the construction progress on the Pomona Metro A Line station.

Thanks as always to Albert Ho, Media Relations Director for the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, for keeping SBLA and its readers up to date on the project. Streetsblog’s San Gabriel Valley coverage is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays!