Los Angeles has officially broken ground on a major $668 million upgrade to its G Line busway, a project expected to significantly reduce travel times and increase safety for public transit users ahead of the 2028 Olympics.

According to a March 28 announcement from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), the project aims to improve end-to-end trip times by at least 12 minutes, or roughly 22%, on the dedicated bus rapid transit (BRT) line running through the San Fernando Valley.

The G Line, formerly known as the Orange Line, has long served as a critical east-west transit route for the region. With these upgrades, it will feature new infrastructure and advanced traffic management systems to make service more reliable and efficient.

Valley Transit Partners, the joint venture awarded the project, includes Stacy and Witbeck of Alameda, California; Flatiron West of Benicia, California; and Modern Railway Systems of Littleton, Colorado. They will deliver the project through a progressive design-build model, allowing design and construction to overlap for faster delivery.

LA Metro stated that the improvements will allow for five-minute bus headways and help prevent motorists from illegally entering the bus-only lanes, enhancing safety for all travelers. The funding sources include LA’s Measure M and Prop C sales taxes, as well as California’s SB-1 gas tax and vehicle fee program, according to Mass Transit magazine.

“These are the most significant improvements Metro has made to this line in its nearly 20-year history,” said Janice Hahn, L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair, in the release. “This work will make the G Line faster and safer in the short-term and brings us a step closer to our ultimate goal of converting the line to light rail.”

Key components of the project include the construction of grade separations, railroad-style gated intersections, updated traffic signals, and three new bridges at Van Nuys Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard, and Vesper Avenue. These upgrades are designed to allow buses to travel unimpeded by cross traffic, further enhancing service reliability.

In addition, the existing Van Nuys Station will be demolished to make way for a new aerial station that will better integrate into the modernized corridor. LA Metro noted that construction at the Van Nuys site began on February 21.

The entire project is slated for completion in 2027, just in time for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, when the city expects increased transit demand.

The G Line project is one of several major initiatives in LA Metro’s broader plan to expand and improve public transit across the San Fernando Valley. Other upcoming efforts include the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, the North San Fernando Transit Corridor Project, the North Hollywood to Pasadena Transit Corridor Project, and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project.

These projects collectively represent LA Metro’s long-term strategy to modernize infrastructure, reduce traffic congestion, and promote sustainable transit alternatives across the region.

As LA continues to prepare for global attention during the Olympics, officials see transit improvements like the G Line upgrade as critical investments in the city’s future mobility.

Stay tuned for updates on project milestones and construction progress in the months ahead.

Originally reported by Julie Strupp in Construction Dive.