Wouldn’t an above ground option be cheaper to build as it would avoid the costs of tunneling?
In many corridors, building above ground can be cheaper. This is not always true, especially in already dense, heavily-traveled corridors like the Westside. Costs escalate when you account for the real estate costs to obtain space needed to create station entrances or to build other systems at street level that are needed for the project. There would also be additional costs incurred to mitigate the traffic impacts of the travel lanes that would be lost along the alignment to accommodate the support structure for an elevated system. During the AA study, we also determined that any above ground option would overwhelm the current streetscape in this corridor. More information about above-ground options in the Westside Corridor can be found in the May 2008 community presentation.
In many corridors, building above ground can be cheaper. This is not always true, especially in already dense, heavily traveled corridors like the Westside. Costs escalate when you account for the real estate costs to obtain space for station entrances or to build other systems at street level that are needed for the project. There would also be additional costs incurred to mitigate the traffic impacts of the travel lanes that would be lost along the alignment to accommodate the support structure for an elevated system. During the AA study, we also determined that any above ground option would overwhelm the current streetscape in this corridor. More information about above-ground options in the Westside Corridor can be found in the May 2008 community presentation.
