LA Metro selects Jacobs, Alta team to deliver bike path

Dallas — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) selected Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., in partnership with Alta Planning + Design, to perform environmental studies and design for the Los Angeles River Bike Path Gap Closure Project. The selection was unanimously approved by the Metro board.

“The Jacobs/Alta team brings a track record of delivery excellence, sustainability and innovation to support Metro in the undertaking of one of the largest active transportation projects in the country,” said Jacobs Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities Americas Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg McIntyre. “The project will provide significant network connectivity between communities, destinations and public transit.”

One of the “Twenty-Eight by ’28” projects Metro is undertaking ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Los Angeles River (LA River) Bike Path Gap Closure Project will enhance mobility, provide commute options and connectivity to employment hubs and high-quality transit lines and provide a safer, more comfortable environment for people biking and walking. The team will provide project management and specialized technical expertise to deliver this high-priority project.

“Alta’s depth of experience has been raising the bar on what trail projects can become for communities both nationally and internationally,” said Alta PLA CEO George Hudson. “The Jacobs/Alta team brings a depth of experience in delivering landmark trail projects and looks forward to collaborating to develop a solution that serves the needs of Metro, the communities along the route and creates a compelling place to experience the outdoors.”

The project will provide a bicycle and pedestrian path along an eight-mile stretch of the LA River from the neighborhood of Elysian Valley to the City of Vernon, improving access to treasured city resources by closing the longest remaining continuous gap in the LA River Bike Path project. When completed, the path will offer a 32-mile continuous active transportation corridor connecting Long Beach to the San Fernando Valley. Metro allocated $365 million in funding from the Measure M sales tax measure approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2016. The project is scheduled to break ground in 2023 and be completed in 2027.

For decades, community groups and agencies have studied and planned for a future river that involves restoration, recreation, active transportation and development projects. In completing this project, the Los Angeles County region will have an iconic, pre-eminent, and functional pathway for walking and biking that serves as a catalyst and foundation for active transportation for the entire region.