Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 11, 2015

6

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 11, 2015 

FOOTHILL GOLD LINE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE


The Foothill Gold Line light rail project from 
Pasadena to Azusa has now surpassed 85% 
complete! Many important project milestones 
were reached this past quarter and we are closing 
in on overall project completion.

 Bridge Construction - In this past quarter, the 
final railroad bridge on the project was completed 
over Huntington Drive and 2nd Avenue in 
Arcadia. Work included a 4-day, around the clock 
shut down of the intersection of Huntington Drive 
and 2nd Avenue.

 While this work did require rerouting cars 
and pedestrians, many interested residents set up 
folding chairs and coolers to watch the amazing 
show.

 Track Completion - With the new Huntington 
Bridge in place, the final section of rail could be 
installed making the permanent connection 
between the cities of Pasadena,

 Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and 
Azusa, via this new light rail line. A track 
completion ceremony was held in the City of 
Azusa to commemorate this exciting milestone in 
the San Gabriel Valley. 

 Grade Crossings - To the delight of local residents 
of both Monrovia and Duarte, the final grade 
crossing on the project was completed two months 
ahead of schedule this past quarter. Due to its 
complicated traffic pattern, the nearby residences, 
retail shopping and schools, Mountain Avenue 
had to be constructed in three different phases of 
construction. Our hats are off to the whole team 
including the staff of both cities who kept the ball 
moving, which allowed the early completion. All 
this work led to the final

important milestone that occurred in the last 
quarter -

 Train Testing - In December, Metro delivered 
a shiny new, twocar train for the project’s use in 
our first phase of testing. The train was towed from 
Metro’s Sierra Madre Villa station all the way to 
the Operations Campus in Monrovia. From there, 
crews towed the train back and forth between 
Monrovia and Irwindale and then later it operated 
under its own power using the recently installed 
and tested Overhead Catenary System. 

Looking forward to the final phase of construction, 
activities that will take place in the next quarter are 
the completion of the Overhead Catenary System 
(OCS) for the entire 11.5 mile corridor, completion 
of all remaining fencing and, hand railings at 
the grade crossings and station platforms, and 
landscaping around the station platforms and

hydro-seeding of all the slopes on the project. 
Installation of station artwork and informational 
casework and seating areas on the platforms will 
also be completed. Testing will continue through 
summer. In Monrovia, the 24-acre Operation 
Campus is quickly being finished. The $265 
million facility is on schedule to be turned over to 
Metro in June 2015; in time for Metro to receive 
light rail vehicles and start to train personnel.

 Substantial completion of the entire project 
remains on schedule for late September 2015, when 
the project as a whole will be turned over to Metro 
for pre-revenue service.

 Metro will decide when the line opens for 
passenger service to 
the public.

IRS SEEKS APPLICATIONS FOR THE ELECTRONIC 
TAX ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

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WEEKEND OPEN HOUSES30 N. Baldwin Avenue, Sierra Madre 
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The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it 
will begin accepting applications for the Electronic Tax 
Administration Advisory Committee on April13 and 
continue accepting them through May 22, 2015.

 ETAAC was established as required by the Internal 
Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. 
The purpose of the ETAAC is to provide continued 
input into the development and implementation of the 
agency’s strategy for electronic tax administration as 
well as to provide an organized public forum for the 
discussion of issues in electronic tax administration.

 There are nine ETAAC members; each member is 
appointed to a three-year term by the Commissioner, 
and the IRS is planning to make four appointments 
that will begin in late 2015.

 Nominations of qualified individuals may come 
from individuals or organizations. ETAAC members 
are drawn from substantially diverse backgrounds. 

 Nominations of qualified individuals may be made 
by letter and received from individuals or professional 
associations. Applicants should complete the ETAAC 
application and include a short statement of interest and 
a resume. Applicants should describe and document 
their qualifications, past and current affiliations, and 
dealings in electronic tax administration. A notice 
published in the Federal Register contains more details 
about the ETAAC and the application process.

 Applicants shall be in good standing regarding their 
own tax obligations and shall represent professional 
and ethical ideals. All applicants must complete and 
submit a tax check waiver form. For the best qualified 
applicants, FBI checks using fingerprints are required. 

 More information, including the application form, 
is available on the Tax Professional’s Page of IRS.gov 
– the official IRS website – at http://www.irs.gov/Tax-
Professionals. Questions about the application process 
can be e-mailed to etaac@irs.gov.