Nine Weeks of Bus Lane Construction Starts Today — Here’s What Pasadena Drivers Need to Know

Two of the city’s busiest intersections will narrow starting today as Metro’s long-planned bus rapid transit line starts construction in Pasadena.

Lane closures, turn restrictions, and sidewalk shutdowns begin the week of April 13 and will remain in place 24/7 across two construction stages for about two months.

Construction crews will begin work the week of April 13 at the major intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Lake Avenue and at Holly Street and Arroyo Parkway, closer to the Memorial Park corridor, according to a City of Pasadena announcement.

The work is part of the 19-mile North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Project, which will connect five communities with zero-emission electric buses and 22 enhanced stations ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The construction will unfold in two stages over approximately nine weeks.

Active work will occur Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. — but the lane closures, turn restrictions, and sidewalk shutdowns will remain in place around the clock until each stage is complete, according to the city.

Stage 1 will focus on the southwest corner of the Colorado and Lake intersection and is expected to last approximately three weeks. On Colorado Boulevard, right turns onto Lake Avenue will be prohibited, and the sidewalk on the south side of Colorado will close between Hudson Avenue and Lake Avenue. On Lake Avenue, southbound lanes will be reduced from Union Street through the Colorado intersection, though right turns onto Market Alley and Colorado Boulevard will be maintained. The sidewalk at the southwest corner of the intersection will also close.

At Holly Street and Arroyo Parkway, Stage 1 will close westbound Holly Street between Arroyo Parkway and Raymond Avenue. Motorists can reach Holly Street via Arroyo Parkway, Union Street, and Raymond Avenue. The sidewalk on the north side of Holly will close between Arroyo Parkway and Marengo Avenue, with pedestrians directed to the opposite side of the street. Left turns from Arroyo Parkway onto Holly Street will be prohibited.

Stage 2 will shift to the southeast corner of Colorado and Lake and is expected to last approximately six weeks. Westbound Colorado Boulevard will be reduced to a single lane between Catalina Avenue and Hudson Avenue. Eastbound Colorado will narrow to one lane between Hudson Avenue and Mentor Avenue. The south-side sidewalk will close between Lake Avenue and Mentor Avenue. On Lake Avenue, northbound lanes will be reduced from Green Street to Colorado Boulevard, and right turns onto Colorado will be prohibited.

At Holly Street during Stage 2, the westbound closure will shift to the segment between Marengo Avenue and Raymond Avenue, with detours via Marengo Avenue or Arroyo Parkway to Union Street and Raymond Avenue. The south-side sidewalk between Arroyo Parkway and Marengo Avenue will close, and left turns from both Arroyo Parkway and Marengo Avenue onto Holly Street will be prohibited.

The BRT project, funded through Metro’s Measure M sales tax initiative and state Senate Bill 1, will create a transit line from the Metro B/G Line station in North Hollywood to Pasadena City College. Within Pasadena, the BRT will operate in mixed traffic with stations planned at Colorado and Los Robles Avenue, Colorado and Lake Avenue, and Colorado and Hill Avenue near Pasadena City College. The line will connect with the Metro A (Gold) Line at Memorial Park.

Metro’s Board of Directors certified the project’s environmental review in April 2022. Pre-construction utility surveys began in summer 2025, and full construction activities began in early 2026 along the broader corridor, according to Metro. The Myers-Shimmick Joint Venture holds the construction manager/general contractor contract.

For additional project information, residents can visit metro.net/nohopasbrt.

The lane reductions and sidewalk closures begin in three days. For the drivers, pedestrians, and business owners along Colorado and Lake, the 2028 Olympics just became a construction schedule.