Editorial Fund Gold Line out to Montclair station

Counties are important political jurisdictions — but county lines can sometimes appear arbitrary.

Still, crossing them can be of tremendous symbolic importance, leading to real progress in this world.

Such is the case with the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority’s effort this month to secure funding in Sacramento to finally cross the Los Angeles County line for the light-rail system and build train tracks and stations east into the small city of Montclair, just across the San Bernardino County line.

Currently, the Gold Line is funded in its ongoing extension work to build out only to Pomona, adding nine miles and four stations to the east from its current Glendora terminus.

But the commuter line, with its promise of reducing congestion on the horribly gridlocked 210 Freeway, has always made the most sense by including the college town of Claremont at L.A. County’s far east and getting as far as possible toward the Inland Empire and Ontario Airport. That’s why the authority is right now seeking $540 million in available surplus funds from the state budget to complete the route to Montclair by early 2026.

The option to do so with the Gold Line’s private construction contractor expires on October 7, so this potential surplus opportunity is really the last chance the contract option will have to be realized. That’s especially the case, the authority tells us, because construction costs have gone up significantly since it awarded the design-build contract in 2019, and the contractor is unwilling to extend the deadline for the authority on this fixed-price contract option.

We have long been a backer of the Gold Line — Metro is trying to redub it the L Line, a name that has yet to catch on — and continue to believe it can play a significant part in Southern California transit in the years to come. Analysts predict that getting to Montclair would mean an immediate increase of more than 8,100 daily boardings. And getting quickly to Claremont and San Bernardino County will surely spur the new housing and business development that always follows a light rail line connected to Downtown Los Angeles.

We urge the Legislature to swiftly approve this funding and the governor to sign it.