San Fernando Valley commuters, brace yourselves for a major shift in your travel routine. Starting Friday, the Van Nuys Station of the Metro G Line rapid bus will close down for three years, making way for a massive construction project intended to speed up travel times and boost safety through the implementation of aerial bridges. Metro confirmed this development in statements covered by CBS News Los Angeles and ABC7.
The closure will affect the station, parking lot, and the nearby bike path, necessitating detours between Sepulveda Boulevard and Woodman Avenue for buses and cyclists. Metro detailed that for travelers to Chatsworth, a temporary stop will be available at the northeast corner of Oxnard Street, while those headed toward North Hollywood can board on the southwest corner. Metro advises to tack on "an additional 5 to 10 minutes of travel time during the detour," as per an ABC7 report.
For the many affected by closed parking at Van Nuys Station, alternatives are available. According to NBC Los Angeles, drivers should instead utilize the Sepulveda G Line Station parking lot at 15430 W. Erwin Street, reachable from both Haskell Avenue and Erwin Street. Additionally, during this extensive construction period, the station’s TAP vending machines will be shut down. Patrons can visit taptogo.net or find their nearest TAP vendor, such as CVS at 5601 Van Nuys Boulevard or Ria Transfers at 14440 Victory Boulevard.
This impressive $668 million project doesn't limit its scope to the two bridges over Van Nuys Boulevard and Vesper Avenue; it also encompasses a third bridge over Sepulveda Boulevard to be started later in the year, as part of a larger strategy to "upgrade the existing Bus Rapid Transit line between North Hollywood and Chatsworth with aerial bridges over three streets (including Sepulveda Boulevard later this year), better signal priority technology and a four-quadrant gating system at selected intersections," according to CBS News Los Angeles. The G Line, often referred to as the Orange Line stands as one of the Metro system's two dedicated bus routes, now poised for a significant transformation aimed at improving the commuting experience for its patrons.
