Scores of drivers were stuck behind train crossing gates today for almost a half hour as Metro continued testing the new westside extension of the Expo Line.
Metro officials acknowledged testing was continuing in advance of the scheduled opening of the line between Culver City and Santa Monica this spring, but they said they were unaware of any specific problems.
Shortly after 10 a.m., guard gates were lowered, warning bells sounded and lights began flashing as vehicle traffic on the northbound lanes of 26th Street just south of Olympic Boulevard came to a halt.
Witnesses said that for about 20 minutes, drivers saw no evidence of trains coming in either direction. A single train then came by heading west, and a few minutes later, that train — followed by another — returned eastbound.
At least one driver got out of his vehicle and walked to the tracks to ask a law enforcement officer what was happening.
By about 10:30 a.m. the gates rose, the bells stopped and the lights went off, as vehicles backed up for blocks started moving. The blocked road is just west of the Expo Line’s Bergamot Station.
Traffic in the area along northbound Cloverfield Boulevard just south of the train backup had already been jammed as the entrance to the eastbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway was shut down for roadway work.
