The following excerpts appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and Inland Vally Daily Bulletin on January 29, 2026. To read the full article (may require subscription), click here.

A Line train extension to Claremont gets another push forward, with contracts for design, engineering, construction – San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

A rendering of what the A Line station in Claremont would look like. (image courtesy of Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority)

By Steve Scauzillo

January 29, 2026

[excerpts]:

“This is an exciting day,” said Ed Reece, vice mayor of Claremont and the chair of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, after the board voted unanimously to approve a design/engineering contract for the extension costing $61 million. The contract went to Parsons Transportation Group Inc.

In addition, the board voted to send out requests for a construction contractor who will do early construction and then present the Construction Authority with a project cost estimate based on the design team’s finished work. The Construction Authority can accept the bid from the contractor, or find another construction contractor.

…

“We are keeping our fingers crossed we get the right team and it is something we can afford,” [Foothill Gold Line CEO Habib F.] Balian said of the contract request for the second contract, called the Construction-Manager-At-Risk. The at-risk in the name means the construction contractor assumes more risk than in other types of processes, such as the design-build approach used in other Construction Authority extension projects.

Balian said he would know after the design is done and the CMAR contractor submits a price in about 1½ years, but said he was optimistic. “Our estimate today shows this project is affordable based on the funds we have,” Balian said in an interview Thursday.

…

“I appreciate we are moving forward. This is a good day,” said Tim Hepburn, La Verne mayor. “This is not a train to nowhere. It is a train to Claremont, and hopefully to San Bernardino (County).”

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