“Completing this project is essential to the future of this corridor and to the region,” said Construction Authority Board Chair and Claremont City Council Member Ed Reece in a news release. “This project will expand mobility with reliable and sustainable transit, reducing emissions and improving quality of life for all. We sincerely appreciate Metro's commitment to completing this number one priority project.”

Metro, which designated the Gold Line project the agency’s number one priority for new state funding in 2023, will utilize a State of California Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant to pay for their portion of work. The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) has dedicated $80 million of state and local funding for their portion. 

With funding in place, the Construction Authority is currently preparing to hire the design-build team for the shovel-ready project. The authority expects to award a contract in Spring 2025 and break ground later in the summer.

Kiewit is currently the only contractor bidding on the final segment and the Gold Line Authority is expected to select them in January when the bid comes in and a final budget is worked out, says Gold Line spokesperson Albert Ho. 

“When the Construction Authority began the procurement process to hire the design-builder for the Pomona to Montclair project in March 2024, a concerted effort was made to reach out to as many potential bidders as possible,” says Ho. “Despite those efforts, as well as offering substantial financial subsidies to those teams that participated and did not win the contract, only Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. responded to the initial Request for Qualifications.”

The Pomona to Montclair extension will extend the light rail 3.2 miles and include two new stations.
Map courtesy Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority

After Kiewit’s Statement of Qualifications was reviewed by the agency’s proposal review committees, the team was deemed qualified on all categories of review and the Construction Authority board approved moving the Kiewit design-build team forward to the proposal phase of the procurement process, says Ho. 

For this phase of the project Kiewit, along with its subcontractor Parsons, will be in charge of the relocation of freight and Metrolink tracks, installation of the light rail system (tracks power and Train control) constructing the Gold Line stations, relocation of the Claremont Metrolink station, reconstruction of a grade crossing and construction of new bridges. 

This last leg of the project is estimated to take five years to complete and should open for riders sometime in 2030. 

Currently, crews are working on the 9.1-mile-long Glendora to Pomona section. This is a $1.5 billion, four-station segment led by Kiewit-Parsons, a Joint Venture (KPJV). Major construction started in July 2020 and is currently more than 92 percent finished, and on budget and time for a January 3, 2025 substantial completion date, at which time the project will be turned over to Metro for training and pre-revenue operations.

The final Pomona to Montclair segment will complete the Foothill Gold Line’s 25-station system from Union Station in Downtown LA to Montclair. The Gold Line Authority completed the first segment from Union Station to Pasadena in 2003 and the Pasadena to Azusa segment in 2015. Once turned over to LA Metro, the project will become part of the Metro A Line. A future trip from Montclair to Pasadena should take just over 40 minutes, and a trip from Los Angeles to Montclair would be about 75 minutes.