Legislation to tunnel to Westside inches forward

A major obstacle to tunnel through the Fairfax District for a subway to serve the Westside moved closer to being lifted Wednesday when the U.S. Senate voted to repeal a ban on federal money for construction under Wilshire Boulevard.

Approved 88 - 7, the vote would repeal a ban enacted in 1985 when Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, argued that the threat of methane explosions made tunneling in the area dangerous. In 2005, an independent panel determined the area was safe for tunneling. Now the measure heads to a Senate-House conference committee, to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of the funding bill.

While digging in March 1985 to build the Red Line subway -- originally designed to head west along the Wilshire Corridor to Santa Monica -- a methane gas explosion ripped through the Ross Dress for Less at Fairfax Avenue and Third Street and blew off much of its roof.

Tunneling in that direction stopped and the Red Line's route was changed to Hollywood and Vine and eventually North Hollywood.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Thursday's decision a victory to getting the city moving. Building a "subway to the sea" is a cornerstone of the mayor's political agenda.