LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) selected FlatironDragados to build two key projects to enhance rail traffic efficiency and expand access to safe, reliable transit for millions of Los Angeles County residents.
“Delivering complex rail infrastructure in one of the country’s busiest urban areas takes ongoing collaboration, technical expertise, and a shared commitment to the communities we serve,” said Dale Nelson, FlatironDragados Executive Vice President. “We look forward to working alongside Metro during the design phase — to optimize the project design and phasing to minimize risk — with the ultimate goal of reaching a negotiated construction contract.”
FlatironDragados and joint venture partner Herzog were selected for the preconstruction services phase of Metro’s Southeast Gateway Line Enabling project, which will relocate heavy freight rail lines and conflicting utilities. This project will make way for the future phase, bringing 14.5 miles of new light rail to southeast Los Angeles County. The $10.5 million preconstruction contract supports early design coordination and construction planning that is currently underway.
The overall construction project — expected to exceed $500 million — will include utility relocations, rail installation, one new light rail bridge and one new freight bridge, a pedestrian bridge over the freeway, and a new Metro station at the I-105 freeway. When completed, the Southeast Gateway Line Program will provide transit access for the cities of Bell, Bellflower, Cerritos, Cudahy, Downey, Florence-Firestone, Huntington Park, Los Angeles, Paramount, South Gate, and Vernon.
FlatironDragados also was selected for the preconstruction services phase of the Link Union Station project, a long-awaited modernization of the historic Los Angeles Union Station — Southern California’s busiest multimodal transit hub. The $7 million preconstruction contract supports current collaboration with Metro on project design and construction planning. This phase of the collaborative delivery project fosters innovation, facilitates ongoing problem solving, and enables greater budget and schedule certainty.
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The overall project will create “run-through tracks” on an elevated rail yard to increase Los Angeles Union Station capacity by up to 200 percent, improve transit connectivity, accommodate Amtrak and Metrolink service, and prepare the corridor for future high-speed rail service. The improvements will allow trains to enter and exit from both ends of the station, easing congestion and enhancing operational flexibility.
