The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has awarded a $1.9 billion main construction contract for the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit line to a joint venture of Stockholm-based Skanska and Alameda-based Stacy and Witbeck Inc.

The contract, announced August 14, represents the first Metro rail project built entirely within the San Fernando Valley. The 6.7-mile line will run from the Van Nuys Metrolink station north along Van Nuys Boulevard to Pacoima, serving the neighborhoods of Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, and Pacoima with 11 new station platforms.

Under the agreement, each partner will receive roughly $950 million. The joint venture is already engaged in pre-construction work on the project, bringing the total value of their contracts to $2.43 billion. Construction began in August and is expected to wrap up by the end of 2031.

The project also includes a 26-acre maintenance yard at the northeastern edge of Van Nuys that will service up to 33 trains running along the route. James Bailey, executive vice president of Skanska USA Civil’s West Coast operations, called the project an investment in mobility for the region.

The East San Fernando Valley line comes as Skanska wraps up another major Metro project: the 3.9-mile, $3.5 billion first segment of the Metro D Line extension under Wilshire Boulevard from Western Avenue in Koreatown to La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

Stacy and Witbeck previously built the Metro G Line bus rapid transit project through the San Fernando Valley, which opened in 2005. Project manager Eric Meisgeir said the company would focus on utility coordination and delivering the line across some of the most active urban corridors in Los Angeles.

The light rail project is expected to transform transit access in the eastern Valley, where residents have long relied on bus service and personal vehicles. The corridor along Van Nuys Boulevard is one of the busiest transit corridors in Los Angeles County, and the new line aims to reduce travel times and support denser transit-oriented development.

The contract award also signals continued investment in Los Angeles County’s transportation infrastructure ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which are driving upgrades across the region’s transit network.

Sources: Los Angeles Business Journal, LA Metro.