Two tunneling boring machines (TBMs) have completed the excavation of tunnels between Century City and the Wilshire/Rodeo station under downtown Beverly Hills as part of Section 2 of the Purple (D Line) Extension project in Los Angeles.

In early February, the TBMs are anticipated to start digging the tunnels between Wilshire/Rodeo and Wilshire/La Cienega stations. The tunnels on 3.9-mile Section 1 of the project — between Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/La Cienega — were completed in 2021.

The Source, reported that construction is also underway on Section 3 of the project between Century City and the Westwood VA Hospital — including a key station at Wilshire and Westwood boulevards that will provide access to Westwood Village and the UCLA campus.
The vital stats on the tunneling on Section 2 include:

•The two TBMs — named Ruth and Harriet — began digging at Century City on April 30, 2020, and traveled to the east.
•Both TBMs excavated for 1,771 m (5,811 ft) between Century City and the Wilshire/Rodeo station.
•The first TBM, Harriet, reached Wilshire/Rodeo on Jan. 11. The second TBM, Ruth, made it to the station box on Jan. 28.

The Purple (D Line) Extension project is extending Metro’s D Line subway from its current terminus at Wilshire/Western for nine miles to the Westwood VA Hospital in Westwood. The project is funded mostly by Measure R, Measure M and federal grants. Section 1 is forecast to open in 2024, Section 2 in 2025 and Section 3 in 2027. Travel time between Westwood and downtown L.A. is expected to take about 25 minutes.