The public is invited to help select the winners of a contest to choose a name and piece of art work for the tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will soon begin digging twin tunnels for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project.
The top 10 name finalists are Lorena (Lorena Weaver), Sojourner (Sojourner Truth), Maya (Maya Angelou), Eleanor (Eleanor Roosevelt), Harriet (Harriet Tubman), M.A.C. (Make A Change), Sally (Sally Ride), The Africana, Rosa (Rosa Parks) and Athena.
Metro encourages the public to go online at metro.net/projects/tunnel-boring-machine-tbm/ and cast your vote for the name and art work now through Dec. 1.
Since June, 2015, more than 200 entries were recieved when the contest began.
Giving a TBM a female name is a mining tradition that dates back to the 14th century. Saint Barbara is the patron of miners — protecting them as they work underground. This homage evolved into the tradition of naming tunneling machines before the digging projects begin.
The contest was divided into two categories. Students from K to 5th grade submitted drawings and for the naming contest students from 6th to 12th grade submitted a 200-word essay or a 2-minute video. The prizes for both categories will be TAP cards loaded with fare valued at $300, $200 or $100.
The committee that selected the top 10 names and top 10 drawings included representatives from Metro, representatives from L.A. County Supervisor and the office of Metro Board Chair Mark Ridley-Thomas, Walsh/Shea Corridor Constructors (WSCC) staff and the Crenshaw Community Leadership Council (CLC).
The winning name and art work will be displayed on the side of the huge TBM machine during the lowering ceremony in early 2016. L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Ridley-Thomas will award the prizes to the winners. A special commemorative TAP card will be personalized with the winning illustration and name.
The TBM was manufactured in Germany by Herrenknecht AG. It weighs 950 tons, is 400 feet long and 21 1/2 feet in diameter. It will dig 60 feet per day and take 1 year to excavate a one-mile tunnel equaling 10,500 feet or nearly 30 football fields.
The Expo Yard, located at the northeast corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Rodeo Road, is one of the staging areas for construction of the new light-rail project. This is where the first Crenshaw/Expo underground station will be located and where the TBM will begin its southbound journey, boring the tunnel that will connect the Expo/Crenshaw, Martin Luther King Jr. and Leimert Park stations. When the TBM reaches the last underground station it will be disassembled and transported by truck back to Crenshaw/Expo station where it will begin digging the second tunnel.
The 8.5-mile Crenshaw/LAX Line is a $2 billion plus light-rail line that will connect the Green and Expo Lines. It will have eight new stations to serve the Crenshaw, Inglewood and LAX communities. It is expected to open in 2019.
All construction activities, dates and times are subject to change. For more information on the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project go to metro.net/Crenshaw, join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CrenshawRail, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/crenshawrail or call the project hotline (213) 922-2736.
Stay informed by following Metro on The Source and El Pasajero at metro.net, facebook.com/losangelesmetro, twitter.com/metrolosangeles and twitter.com/metroLAalerts and instagram.com/metrolosangeles.
