Where are they now?

The Purple Line Extension Section 1 Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), Elsie and Soyeon, are currently digging under Wilshire Bl. They will construct two parallel tunnels to create a seamless connection from the current Purple Line terminus at Wilshire/Western Station in Koreatown to three new stations located at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega.

Elsie and Soyeon are responsible for building 17,845 linear feet of tunnels to create approximately 3.9 miles of new subway. They are currently on their way to completing Reach 1.

As of tradition, the TBMs for Section 2 of the Purple Line Extension will be affectionately referred to as “The Twins” until they receive names through the Art and Naming Contest . The Twins will be building the connection between the Wilshire/La Cienega and Wilshire/Rodeo Stations in Beverly Hills and the Century City/Constellation Station in Century City. They will build approximately 2.6 miles of new subway and will be creating 13,630 linear feet of tunnels. The twins are expected to start tunneling Fall 2019.

Along the way, TBMs will encounter different soil conditions. The tunnel crown will always be at least 20 feet or more under the subsurface water table.

In terms of geology, tunnels will be bored through two types of geological formations: San Pedro and Fernando.

Tunneling Statistics

Progress is measured in total linear feet traveled.

Section 1 Tunneling

Section 2 Tunneling