INGLEWOOD – The city of Inglewood announced they have achieved a major milestone in receiving federal funding towards the Inglewood Transit Connector (ITC) project.
The City received a positive rating which declares the project eligible for funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program which moves the project closer to groundbreaking.
“We thank the FTA for advancing the ITC project as it will not only enhance access to our housing, commercial and world-class sports and entertainment centers, it will provide access to good job opportunities and will lift up Inglewood, the South Bay and the entire region,” said Mayor James T. Butts Jr.
“I thank President Biden, Secretary Buttieg, Administrator Fernandez and the FTA team as well as Senator Padilla, the late Senator Feinstein and Congresswoman Waters for their continued commitment to facilitating investments in much-needed high-quality transit.”
To achieve the rating, the City had to demonstrate the ITC’s ridership potential, synergy with FTA’s land use and economic development goals and financial ability to deliver the project.
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) estimated that the bulk of the rides would take place on event days, typically on weekends. Ridership during non-event days was projected to be less than 500 rides per days, with thousands expected on event days.
The City demonstrated funding potential by securing $873 million, which is roughly one-third of the initial construction costs that have swelled to nearly $3 billion since the project was introduced in 2019.
Initial construction costs were estimated at $1.15 billion then increased to $1.6 billion. The City secured more than $765 million in local, state and federal funds, including $233.3 million of Measure R funding which had previously been allocated to the project based on the SBCCOG’s support.
The City has also pledged roughly $10 million from Inglewood taxpayers towards ongoing maintenance and operations costs should the project be completed.
Documents released during the Oct. 11 Inglewood Transit Connector Joint Powers Authority detailed the costs swelled by nearly $1 billion.
The City has not publicly discussed revenue estimates once the ITC opens to the public.
“We are looking at advertising, a fare box, and Transportation Impact Fees that will be on the table,” said Lisa Trifiletti, the lead consultant on the project.
According to the City’s 2023-2024 budget they have brought in $267,000 in Transportation Impact Fees.
The ITC is a proposed 1.6 automated people mover that will address a “first/last” mile transportation gap between the Metro K Line and the Inglewood Sports and Entertainment District which includes the Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome as well as the commercial and housing destinations in Hollywood Park.
The ITC will connect Inglewood residents to the Metro transit system, and link riders from across Metro’s existing 100+ miles of rail to Inglewood.
Three teams have been prequalified by the CIty and are expected to bid on a solicitation to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the ITC this fall, with an award anticipated in the second quarter of 2024.
The three teams are Elevate Inglewood Partners (Tutor Perini, Woojin and Parsons), Envision Inglewood Connected (Ferrovial Construction and Griffith Company), and Inglewood Community Connectors (Dragados USA and Dopplemayr).