The following excerpts appeared in the LA Daily News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and San Bernardino Sun on September 12, 2025. To read the full article (may require subscription), click here.
Why did San Bernardino County kill the A Line extension to Montclair? – Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Light-rail train testing the new tracks recently of the A-Line traveling across the new bridge over the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Grand Avenue in Glendora. The Azusa to Pomona extension opens Sept. 19, 2025. An extension to Claremont is awaiting bids. But building the line out to Montclair was voted down on Sept. 3, 2025 by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA). (image courtesy of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority)
By Steve Scauzillo
September 12, 2025
[excerpts]
[Foothill Gold Line CEO Habib F.] Balian said he knew of the SBCTA’s frustrations, calling it the elephant in the room. But he said their demands went above what any other city in L.A. County had asked for in A Line extensions.
“How ridiculous this argument is: They wanted to have approval over construction of Metro’s light-rail system within their right-of-way. They wanted to have more rights than Metro has. It’s strange they wanted control over a project Metro would operate.”
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These arguments, coupled with asks for deep structural changes in the way the Construction Authority and LA Metro builds and operates light-rail, resulted in non-agreement on this project.
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The Construction Authority is out with a request for proposals to extend the line to Claremont, using about $800 million from the state and LA Metro. The agency will award a design contract in November, with construction scheduled to start in August 2027, with completion to Claremont in 2031.
“In the intervening years, we would hope there is interest in getting the project to Montclair,” Balian said. “We are plowing away to get to Claremont,” he said, adding going to Montclair is still an option. “It is up to the stakeholders — they have to want the project.”
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