Help L.A. students name the Crenshaw/LAX tunnel boring machine

November 19, 2015 By Leave a Comment


A soon-to-be-named tunnel boring machine (TBM) similar to Seattle's Pamela, pictured in blue, will carve out the Crenshaw/LAX line's twin tunnels.

The Crenshaw/LAX line’s twin tunnels will be carved out by a soon-to-be-named tunnel boring machine (TBM) similar to Pamela (pictured in blue), which was used to carve out the Northgate Link Extension in Seattle, WA. | Sound Transit, Flickr Creative Commons.

In keeping with a 700-year-old mining tradition, Metro plans to give a female name to the tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will excavate the twin tunnels for the Crenshaw/LAX line.

But it needs the public’s help.

Metro is requesting public participation in voting to select the LAUSD student-submitted name and artwork to be featured on the machine during an early 2016 lowering ceremony.

Although the TBM has “boring” spelled out in its moniker, the process of keeping with mining history has been anything but. Rather, it’s been a creative process.

LAUSD students in sixth to 12th grades submitted their choice of either a 200-word essay or two-minute video outlining why a suggested name would best suit the 950-pound, 400-foot-long machine.

Additionally, students in kindergarten through fifth grade entered artwork to be featured alongside the winning name.

Representatives from Metro, the office of L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Mark Ridley-Thomas, Walsh/Shea Corridor Constructors and staff, and the Crenshaw Community Leadership Council selected the finalists from a pool over more than 200 entries submitted since June.

The top 10 name finalists are Lorena (Lorena Weaver), Sojourner (Sojourner Truth), Maya (Maya Angelou), Eleanor (Eleanor Roosevelt), Harriet (Harriet Tubman), M.A.C. (Make A Change), Sally (Sally Ride), The Africana, Rosa (Rosa Parks), and Athena.

Three student contest winners from each category will be awarded with a $100, $200 or $300 TAP card during the lowering ceremony. Voting for the favorite name and artwork is open now through Dec. 1.  

Digging 60 feet per day, it will take a year for the TBM to excavate the 1-mile twin tunnels beginning at the northeast corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Rodeo Road and will connect the Crenshaw/Expo, Martin Luther King Jr. and Leimert Park underground stations.

The tunnel boring is a part of the construction of the more than $2 billion Crenshaw/LAX light-rail project that will connect the Green and Expo lines. The new route will consist of eight new stations to serve the Crenshaw, Inglewood and LAX communities. It is expected to open in 2019.

Filed Under: Community, More on Intersections, Transportation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

South LA students encouraged to enter essay contest

November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment


South LA high school students are encouraged to submit essays to the national “Being an American” Essay Contest, sponsored by the Bill of Right’s Institute and the History Channel. Students can win up to $1,000 by answering the question: “How does the Constitution establish and maintain a culture of liberty?” Over 80,000 essays have been submitted in the past, making this Essay Contest the largest high school essay competition. image

Essays must be no more 1,000 words and are judged on a number of criteria including adherence to essay question, originality, organization, writing style, and depth of analysis. The Bill of Rights Institute hosts this contest every year. Founded in 1999, the Bill of Rights Institute is a non-profit educational organization. Their mission is “to educate young people about the words and ideas of America’s Founders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding documents, and how our Founding principles continue to affect and shape a free society.”

“This contest is unique in that it gives students the opportunity to think about the important Founding principles communicated in our Constitution,” said Dr. Jason Ross, Bill of Rights Institute Vice President of Education Programs. “This contest is vital to helping students see the Founding principles as a meaningful part of the American experiment of self-government.”

South LA students will compete against other high school students in California and others from the “Western Region” of the United States: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington as well as Guam, American Samoa, and American Armed Forces Schools Abroad (APO). The top three students in each region will be awarded cash prizes. First place winner wins $1,000, while second place wins $500 and third place is awarded $250. The teacher sponsor of each student winner will receive a $100 cash prize.

The deadline for essay submission is December 15, 2011 at 11:59 PST. To submit an essay and find out more information, go here.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , ,