LA Metro Board Greenlights $413 Million Vermont Transit Corridor as D Line Subway Prepares for 2027 Station Debuts

Metro Board Authorizes $413 Million for 12.4-Mile Vermont Rapid Transit Corridor

LOS ANGELES, California — In a transformative step toward enhancing north-south urban mobility across Southern California, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board of Directors formally approved the $413 million capital budget in late September 2026 to advance the high-priority Vermont Transit Corridor into pre-construction engineering. Spanning 12.4 miles along Vermont Avenue from Hollywood Boulevard south to 120th Street, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line will transform one of the region's heaviest traveled corridors with dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, and off-board payment kiosks.

Serving as Metro's second busiest bus corridor with over 45,000 daily passenger boardings, the enhanced rapid transit link connects major educational centers, commercial hubs, and healthcare campuses in South Los Angeles and Koreatown, drastically reducing end-to-end travel times for working transit commuters.

D Line Subway Extension Enters Final Surface Restoration and Systems Testing

Simultaneously, heavy civil construction on the multi-phase Purple (D Line) Subway Extension beneath Wilshire Boulevard reached crucial transition milestones. Underground tunneling teams completed structural boring across all three construction segments, allowing surface contractors in Beverly Hills and Century City to begin roadway repaving and utility restorations ahead of anticipated passenger station openings in spring 2027.

Further west along the corridor, systems integration and architectural fit-outs advanced toward the Westwood/UCLA and VA Hospital terminus stations scheduled for launch in late 2027, preparing Los Angeles with rapid, grade-separated subway transit ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Forging a Modern, High-Capacity Transit Network for Southern California

Regional planners and urban advocates highlighted that pairing high-capacity bus rapid transit along north-south arteries like Vermont Avenue with deep-bore heavy rail along Wilshire Boulevard creates an interconnected transit web. These long-term infrastructure investments ensure Los Angeles commuters have fast, dignified, and sustainable travel alternatives across the metropolitan basin.