It has taken nearly seven years, $1 billion and much toil and dedication, but the communities of Azusa and Glendora both celebrated the dedication of two light rail stations for the soon-to-be-launched Gold Line Foothill Extension.
The ceremony took place Saturday morning at the Azusa Downtown Station and also celebrated the Citrus College/APU Station. It was a packed house at the dedication with residents and political dignitaries from the region making an appearance.
Council members from Glendora and Azusa were present, as well as the Citrus College Board of Trustees, state Senator Ed Hernandez (22nd), Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (32nd), Congresswoman Judy Chu (27th) Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti were on hand at the dedications.
“This is history in the making. We have anticipated this day for such a long time. It’s the culmination of so much hard work for many in our communities,” said Judy Chu.
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Residents were treated to view examples of station artwork from artists Lynn Goodpasture (the APU/Citrus College Station) and Jose Aguirre (Azusa Downtown Station).
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had high praise for the Foothill Extension Construction Authority for their hard work and planning throughout Phase 2A’s inception and near completion.
“The moment I was elected, they came and talked to me.”[They have] done a really amazing job,” Garcetti said. “We expect about 66,000 people per day to benefit from this expansion, but whenever we try to estimate how many people ride one of our lines, we always exceed that.”
The extension is expected to be turned over for pre-revenue testing later in September. When that happens, Metro authorities are expected to announce an official date for service to begin in spring of 2016, said Phil Washington, Metro CEO.
“This represents the future,” said Azusa Mayor Joe Roacha. “You are going to remember that you are here. When you are getting on the train, you are going to tell your kids and family that [you] were here the day they dedicated this station.”
