Two separate automated transit systems slated to whisk riders to LAX and to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood now face delays that could push each of their openings out by more than a year.
Both projects plan to use automated people movers to connect their respective destinations to Los Angeles County’s existing Metro Rail system.
A new report from Fitch Ratings suggests the first of the two projects — the LAX Automated People Mover Project, originally slated to open in 2023 — likely will not be finished until April 2025 due to repeated construction delays and a “strained relationship” between the builder-operator, LAX Integrated Express Solutions, or LINXS, and Los Angeles World Airports.
Meanwhile, the Federal Transit Authority, which has pledged more than $1 billion to the separate Inglewood Transit Connector, now expects that project will not be completed in time for the 2028 Olympics as planned, and instead will open in 2030.
LAX project’s bond rating drops
Fitch downgraded its bond rating for the LAX project earlier this month as a result of the anticipated delays and gave it an overall “negative outlook,” suggesting it could receive another downgrade in the future, according to a Jan. 19 report.
“The project has experienced extended construction delays, prolonged dispute resolution, and difficulties in the parties’ working relationship,” the report states. “Although significant construction progress has been made, the project is required to undergo a rigorous testing and commissioning process and is not expected to be completed until April 2025.”
The 2.25-mile elevated train system connecting LAX to parking, car rental services and Metro’s K Line is about 96% complete, according to the report. The People Mover is part of a $5.5 billion modernization effort at LAX.
The project’s completion date has slipped several times already amid fighting between LAWA and LINXS. Previously, LAWA served LINXS with a default notice in July 2023 for allegedly abandoning additional roadway work. The two sides later settled that dispute, but a subsequent report issued later that year by a technical adviser indicated the two sides were once again battling over the project’s progress.
In an email, a spokesperson said LAWA is “in active discussions with the Automated People Mover (APM) contractor to resolve outstanding claims and has no additional information at this time.”
Inglewood project could miss Olympics
The $2 billion Inglewood Transit Connector, another people mover project, will similarly connect to the Metro K Line and work in tandem with LAX’s future transit system to allow visitors to travel from the airport to the Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium and the Los Angeles Clippers’ soon-to-be-completed Intuit Dome without ever using a car. Officials hope the project will reduce traffic around the city’s sports and entertainment venues.
The project has long been pitched as a potential public transit option for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will host its opening ceremony, as well as football and archery competitions, at SoFi Stadium. The FTA, however, now anticipates the service will not be ready until two years later, in 2030, according to a project profile updated in early January.
City officials had previously said the project was “highly unlikely” to be ready in time for the Super Bowl’s 2027 return to the city.
The ITC has amassed roughly $1.9 billion in funding from federal, state and local sources. A joint powers authority, formed by the city and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is expected to select the team that will implement the project from three prequalified bidders later this summer.
In a statement, Inglewood spokesperson Lisa Richardson said the estimated completion date is subject to change as a result.
“The FTA, through their risk-informed modeling process has set a passenger service date of March 2030, but we are in the middle of a procurement process, and we will be more comfortable with a projected date after that is completed,” she said.
The delays in both projects were first reported by KTLA.
