Metro E – Residents in East Los Angeles are weighing Metro’s planned 4.7-mile E Line extension to Montebello, with many urging more outreach after concerns about construction disruptions, impacts to small businesses, and the scope of public comment. The project would co
When Metro unveiled plans to extend the E Line from East Los Angeles to Montebello. it sounded like a long-term traffic fix. But at a recent community meeting. the conversation quickly narrowed to what residents feared could happen right away: the road closures. the noise. and what it could mean for the local storefronts.
The proposal would add a 4.7-mile extension of the Metro E Line with four new stations, connecting East Los Angeles to Montebello. Metro says the plan would relocate the existing Atlantic station underground and use a mix of underground, aerial and street-level track transit.
Metro also put big numbers on the project’s timeline and price tag. The $7.9-billion project is expected to open for service between 2035 and 2037. and construction would begin in 2029 and last approximately eight to 10 years. pending full funding approval. The extension is part of a wider plan to connect the E Line to the city of Whittier. but officials say the work would be built in two phases due to funding constraints.
Officials say the aim is to reduce traffic congestion and ease pressure on local roads. For residents who showed up to talk, the stakes felt more immediate than that.
East L.A. resident Clara Solis said the current outreach schedule left people feeling unheard. “Thirty days for comment on a complex issue like this is ridiculous. … We need better outreach,” Solis said, adding that the 30-day public comment period ends June 26.
Solis and other residents pointed to past transit construction as a cautionary tale. saying businesses can struggle while roads are reshaped and foot traffic changes. She asked for Metro to show its plan for protecting local commerce. “How is this going to impact the businesses?. When the Gold Line went through, a lot of our businesses really suffered economically,” Solis said. “We want to see a presentation on that. You should have a presentation just on how it’s going to impact the businesses.”.
For Kristie Hernandez. the question wasn’t only how long people get to comment—it was who gets invited in the first place. Hernandez said outreach should extend beyond people living within the immediate 200-foot project radius. “We need to understand that folks who don’t necessarily live within that close proximity also frequent that area when they drive. ” Hernandez said.
Hernandez pushed for a 90-day public comment window and called for more presentations that explain what residents are likely to experience in the ground itself—especially in light of a recent warning from the area. She urged Metro to outline underground infrastructure plans after the East L.A. pipeline was punctured during construction work in late May. The rupture sent crude oil into the L.A. River.
“We do not want that to happen again,” Hernandez said.
Not everyone at the meeting was focused on the same worries. Lucia Martinez spoke favorably about the extension plans, describing how she depends on buses to get around East L.A. for shopping and errands. She said she looks forward to using Metro to travel to the Citadel Outlets and to her hospital in Pasadena.
“As an older woman who became aware of this project, I think it is amazing because I am someone who does not drive,” Martinez said.
For the community. the extension now sits at a sharp crossroads: a promise of connectivity and long-term transportation relief. weighed against the disruption residents say they’ve felt before and the communication gaps they say still need to be closed. Metro’s next moves—especially how it responds before the June 26 comment deadline—are likely to shape whether neighbors feel like partners in the process or spectators watching construction arrive.
Metro E Line extension Montebello East Los Angeles public comment construction disruptions small businesses Atlantic station underground 200-foot project radius June 26 deadline East L.A. pipeline rupture L.A. River Whittier phase