Metro boring machines
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is looking for military veteran artists to create artwork for its tunnel boring machines that will link the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus to UCLA.
Metro plans to use two additional tunnel boring machines (TBMs) to dig a tunnel through the VA, which will extend the metro purple line.
“Before sending our TBMs along their journey into the earth, we would also like to adorn them with special artwork that is representative of the local community they will be tunneling under,” Metro said in a statement on its website.
Los Angeles County hosts the Olympics in 2028; therefore, the Purple Line Extension Project must have the tunnel completed before the deadline. However, it is traditional for the TBMs to get named before excavating underground. Therefore, Metro created a contest that divides into two categories. The first contest caters to individuals who are U.S veterans as well as UCLA affiliates. The second contest is for the general public to create art that illustrates their ideal community with the expansion of the purple line.
The metro purple line begins at Union Station and ends at the Western/Wilshire station; therefore, the TBMs would drill approximately 13.2 miles through hard rock and sand from the Western/Wilshire station to the future Westwood/UCLA station. In addition to that, TBMs are capable of limiting the disturbance of the surrounding ground and producing a smooth tunnel wall, according to RailSystem.
The TBMs usually get named after women as a sense of good luck, according to Metro. Therefore, Section 1 TBMs of the Purple Line Extension Project got called “Elsie” and “Soyeon.” The names got selected out of a winning-entry submission from a 9th grader from Fairfax High School, Marianne Gutierez. Therefore, there’s no limit on age or gender to compete in the naming contests. As mentioned previously, it’s open for the general population.
For those who are interested in joining the contests, visit the Metro website at www.metro.net. There, individuals have access to online forms and applications for entry to both competitions. The Purple Line Extension Project is also accessible via Twitter at username @PurpleLineTBMs for further details on the project and contests.
Author: Trissean McDonald
I first began my quest in the field of journalism in 2015 through freelance. I’ve always had an interest in storytelling. Before pursuing an educational pathway toward a professional career in journalism, I’ve written several editorials for a mental health organization called The Painted Brain. In addition to that, I’ve created a blog that focuses on delivering hard news, editorials, photographs, even poems of encouragement.
