The construction authority responsible for building the A (Gold) Line in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley celebrated Thursday by receiving nearly $800 million to help extend the line to Claremont and Montclair, which making it the first light rail to pass through San Gabriel. Bernardino County.

The money arrived in two stages: from The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) at the Los Angeles Metro on October 31. Then, on November 14, the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority board voted to receive $798 million from LA Metro that will be used to award a contract for the 3.2-mile extension project.

LA Metro’s commitment is to take the light rail line from Pomona to Claremont. The next mile to the small Inland Empire town of Montclair will cost about $80 million, money earmarked for construction by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA).

The two portions bring the estimated cost of the project to $878 million, LA Metro reported. A bid from the contractor, Kiewit Infrastructure Engineers, is expected in January, said Habib Balian, CEO of construction authority Gold Line. The contract would be awarded between March and May, with a groundbreaking in the fall. Completion is expected in 2030, he said.

Authority board members talked about finally receiving the funds needed to close the gap after the project was truncated in 2019 to only reach La Verne because it ran out of money. It took an additional $126 million from the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments to build it in Pomona, Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval said.

The Azusa to Pomona extension will be completed on January 3, 2025. LA Metro will open service a few months later, allowing riders to go from Long Beach to Los Angeles, Pasadena and Pomona. It is the longest light rail line in the country.

John Fasana, a former board member of the Los Angeles Metro Authority and Board of Directors and former mayor of Duarte, spent decades promoting the Gold Line, the original name that many still use.

“We have done a lot of things to move this forward,” he told the authority’s board of directors when it met Thursday in Monrovia. “In 2008, we brought it to Pasadena (from Union Station in Los Angeles). It was about county-wide mobility. But I would say it was much more difficult than it needed to be.

He later spoke in an interview about opposition to the line of then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who didn’t want it to go further than Pasadena, Fasana said. The push to Claremont, and now San Bernardino County was defended by Mayor Eric Garcetti, » said Fasana.

“It ushered in a more cooperative period,” he said.

Even after reaching Pasadena, the first stop, many said no one would ride it. “All of this turned out to be false,” Fasana added.

Cliff Hamlow, a former Glendora City Council member and authority board member, said he joined many cities in the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire to convince a Los Angeles Metro Board of Directors, oriented towards Los Angeles, to finance the extension to Montclair.

“It was about letting go of control of Los Angeles. They didn’t believe the San Gabriel Valley existed,” Hamlow said. “It’s exciting that it’s coming to Claremont and Montclair.”

Montclair City Council member and authority board member Bill Ruh at one point fought back tears before voting to fund the expansion.

“We are very happy about it. This is a decades-long journey for me,” he said after the meeting. “This is a dream come true for Montclair residents and all the families in our area who rely on public transit.

When funding for the expansion was denied by the state in 2021, 2022 and 2023, Ruh and Montclair Mayor John Dutrey emphasized the need for Inland Empire residents to board a light rail system that they can take to get to their jobs in Pasadena, Los Angeles. and Long Beach.

They saw value in a $1.75 light rail ride that connects the two counties, saying it would appeal to commuters who normally take the 210, 10 and 50 freeways east in the morning, then west in the evening, making it one of the most popular. most congested highways in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

Sandoval, in a speech at Los Angeles Metro on October 31, spoke about the movement of young Angelenos to Montclair, Upland, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, finding cheaper housing options, while commuting daily to work in the Los Angeles County.

“It’s absolutely critical to connect San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County,” Ruh said, adding that people don’t notice the county line when they cross it. “Residents pass through these counties every day,” he added.

The Progressive City of Montclair has planned housing around Montclair Station, near its transit center. It has developed specific plans for more housing near where the A Line’s easternmost station will sit. Likewise, Pomona and Glendora are preparing housing projects near their stations.

Claremont City Council member Ed Reece was overwhelmed by the idea of ​​his small town being connected to a train from Los Angeles, and soon IE.

“This project has had many ups and downs. I am so excited about the current situation that my soul is overflowing, it is overflowing with excitement, it is overflowing with appreciation. I will never forget that day when we all came together to celebrate this milestone,” Reece said.