Electeds, agency representatives, and other leaders gathered  in Little Tokyo yesterday to commemorate the groundbreaking for construction of Metro’s Regional Connector subway. Metro boardmembers were joined by federal Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and even activist-actor George Takei.

Preliminary construction has been underway for over a year, since before February’s full-funding announcement for the project.

The Regional Connector is a 1.9-mile $1.5 billion light rail subway. Its alignment follows Second Street (Alameda to Flower) and Flower Street (2nd to 7th.) The connector ties together the Metro Blue, Gold, and Expo Lines, making for transfer-free travel from Long Beach to Azusa, and from Santa Monica to East L.A. The line is anticipated to open in 2020.

For plenty more Regional Connector groundbreaking coverage, see the L.A. Times, The Source, L.A. Downtown News, Curbed, and KPCC. Renderings, fact sheets, maps, and more at Metro project page.