By: Aja Haskin
The Metrolink station in Vista Canyon is open for service.
The station runs between Lancaster and Los Angeles Union Station, making it Santa Clarita’s fourth metro-link station.
“The Vista Canyon multi-modal center will serve the Southern California Regional Rail Authority Metrolink Antelope Valley line,” said Santa Clarita Mayor Jason Gibbs at a press conference for the station’s opening.
Also built were eight bus transit bays, which the city believes will ease congestion on roadways.
Construction began three years ago, but the man behind it will tell you it was 20 years in the making.
“It is a big relief, I have to admit,” said JSB President of Development Jim Backer. “It’s something that I didn’t know if it could ever happen just cause of all the things that had to come together.”
“We got sued for three and a half years and ultimately settled that, and then you get to go build the thing,” said Backer.
Walking through the station, passengers will find pieces of transit history to look back on.
“Contributions made by the estimated 1,000 Chinese laborers who would lay the tracks and work on that 7,000-foot tunnel that connects San Francisco to Los Angeles in what is now the Newhall pass,” said Gibbs.
While paying tribute to its past, the city is also focused on the future of Santa Clarita.
“The Vista Canyon multi-modal center is a project that was in the Santa Clarita 2025 strategic plan,” said Gibbs. “And supports the goal of enhancing economic vitality by expanding transit services for underserved areas.”
According to city planners, residents in Vista Canyon can expect more to come.
“Starting next year, the city’s going to build a bridge over the river to connect to Soledad,” said Backer. “So, then we kind of have the last big link of infrastructure.”
