Metro Leaves Out Gold Line Route to Claremont in Measure R Amendment

While the Gold Line from the Azusa/Glendora border to Claremont still lacks funds, Metro refused to include the remaining route in its latest expenditure plan.
The Gold Line Foothill Extension project was dealt a blow when the Metro Board decided Thursday not to include cost information for the remaining route from the Azusa/Glendora border to Claremont in its Measure R Expenditure Plan Amendment, despite pressure from local governments and federal and state delegations.
The board voted down a motion by the Metro Executive Management Committee, according to Habib Balian, CEO of the Gold Line Construction Authority. Instead, the board agreed to hear a report on the issue in September.
While the extension route from Pasadena to Azusa is funded under Measure R, there is a funding gap for the remaining route from the Azusa/Glendora border to Claremont. The total estimated cost for the project is $1.714 billion, according to the Gold Line Construction Authority.
Local representatives, including County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, Congresswoman Judy Chu and the Council of Governments, as well as the cities of Glendora, Claremont, San Dimas and Pomona, urged Metro to include the entire project in the amendment.
“Unfortunately, we were not successful today,” Balian wrote in an e-mail statement Thursday.