Commentary: The LAX people mover wasn't ready for the 2026 World Cup. Will it even be ready for the 2028 Olympics?

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Set us as preferred Like any loyal citizens, we Angelenos like to think we’re No.1 in important things.

The conclusion is often debatable, but not in respect to one major municipal project.The LAX people mover train, which is designed to carry 10,000 passengers a day throughout the airport’s terminals and out to a rental car center and the green line of the L.A.subway, can lay claim to being the most ridiculously mismanaged construction project in the United States.Construction on the 2.25-mile line began in 2019, with a projected opening in 2023.

The idea was for it to be ready to accommodate crowds coming to this year’s World Cup, followed by the 2027 Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium next February, and — the big event — the 2028 L.A.Olympics.When you go into the legal system, it has a timeline of its own.— Seth Lehman, Fitch Ratings, explaining why the LAX people mover bonds are designated as junkBy all accounts, the project is 99.6% complete — drivers in the LAX loop today can spot the people mover cars doing test runs on the tracks.

But those last 0.4 percentage points are a nightmare.The last technical steps before its opening are things like safety and security testing.

And also settling a very childish dispute between the airport and the contractors.Obviously, the project missed the World Cup.Whether it will be operating in time for the Super Bowl is open to question.

There’s even reason to doubt it will be ready for the Olympics.Meanwhile, its cost has ballooned from the original estimate of $1.95 billion to a projected $3.3 billion, at least.

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