On April 26, Metro issued a “notice to proceed” to begin construction of Section 2 of the purple line extension to Century City.

The official notice comes after Metro awarded the contract to Tutor Perinin/O&G back in January.

Construction is slated to begin in 2018 with the aim of finishing the line to Westwood by 2024, in time for the possible Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which the City is bidding for.

Also on April 26, Metro began soliciting bids from companies interested in conducting a feasibility study of potential modes of transit, and what routes they should take.

“The Sepulveda Pass remains one of the most intractable choke points in

the entire L.A. region, impacting hundreds of thousands of motorists on a daily basis,” said Duarte Mayor Pro Tem John Fasana, a Metro board member.

“That’s why we are laser-focused on finding a transit solution that will finally give Angelenos a choice to avoid this freeway’s rush-hour gridlock.”

The bidding process will identify a consultant to study “high-capacity” transit alternatives stretching 11 miles between the Metro Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley, the future Purple Line subway station in either Westwood or the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration hospital, and continuing to the Metro Expo Line in West L.A.

With the combination of the 2008 Measure R transportation sales tax and the more recently approved Measure M tax, Metro has nearly $8 billion earmarked for the project.

The study, which is expected to take 14 months to complete once a consultant is hired, will include an evaluation of rapid-transit buses, light rail, subway and potentially other modes of transit not currently operated in the region.

Metro’s current schedule calls for a transit system to be built through the Sepulveda Pass by 2033, but agency officials said they are exploring options to accelerate the project.

Metro is already conducting a study of potential toll lanes on the San Diego (405) Freeway between the Ventura (101) and Santa Monica (10) freeways.