The following excerpts appeared in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (as well as the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and San Bernardino Sun) on November 14, 2024. To read the full article (may require subscription), click here.

$798M accepted to help build light-rail extension to Claremont and Montclair – Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Members of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority board celebrate receiving $798 million to help build the line from Pomona to Montclair during their board meeting in Monrovia on Thursday Nov. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)

By Steve Scauzillo

November 14, 2024

[excerpts]:

“We are very thrilled about this. This is a decades-long journey for me,” [Construction Authority Board Alternate, Montclair Council Member Bill Ruh] said after the meeting. “It is the realization of a dream for the residents of Montclair and all the families in our region who depend on mass transit.”

…

“It is absolutely essential to connect San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County together,” said Ruh, adding that people don’t notice a county line when they cross it. “Residents drive across these county lines every single day,” he added.

The progressive city of Montclair has planned for housing around the Montclair station, near its transit center. It has laid out specific plans for more housing near where the A Line eastern-most station will rest. Likewise, Pomona and Glendora are preparing plans for housing near their stations.

…

Claremont City Councilmember Ed Reece was overwhelmed with the idea of his small city being linked up to an LA, and soon, IE train.

“This project has had many ups and downs. I am so excited with where we are today that my soul is overflowing, it’s overflowing with excitement, overflowing with appreciation. I will never forget this day when we all came together to celebrate this milestone,” Reece said.

To read the full article (may require subscription), click here.