Southern California is undergoing a once-in-a-generation transformation of its transportation infrastructure, with major investments reshaping how people move across the region and beyond. From next-generation airport terminals to modernized rail hubs, these upcoming projects are redefining the passenger experience while addressing capacity, connectivity, and sustainability. 

Moderated by Andrew Byrne, Partner at Grimshaw, panelists included: Tim Lindholm, Chief Program Management Officer at LA Metro; Aaron Galinis, Principal Planner at Hollywood Burbank Airport; and Hans Thilenius, Deputy Executive Director of Terminal Development and Improvement Program at Los Angeles World Airports. 

Region on a Roll 

Lindholm, overseeing LA Metro's capital program, set the stage immediately. Metro is running the largest transportation capital program in the nation, roughly $35 billion across approximately 30 projects, funded largely by local tax measures. In the past year alone, the agency opened the rail-to-rail active transportation path along Slauson, completed the LAX Metro Transit Center connecting the C and K lines directly to the airport’s automated people mover, extended the A-Line to Pomona, and opened the long-awaited D-Line extension bringing the subway to La Brea, Fairfax, and the museum district for the first time. 

“We have officially recovered,” Lindholm said of Metro's post-pandemic ridership, noting the agency is now moving more than a million people per day. “We’re not recovering anymore. We’re reinventing.” 

That reinvention includes a turn toward high-impact, lower-cost projects. Lindholm highlighted the Vermont Bus Rapid Transit corridor (25 miles from Athens to the subway) and the North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT line as initiatives that could be genuinely transformational without the price tag of a light rail extension.  

A New Front Door for the San Fernando Valley 

Galinis walked the audience through the development plan for Hollywood Burbank Airport: building an entirely new terminal on the opposite side of the airfield, moving overnight, then demolishing the old one. The new facility is scheduled to open on Oct. 13. 

The impetus was safety. The existing terminal, which first opened in 1930, sits too close to the runway to meet modern engineering standards. That deficiency, Galinis noted, is what finally gave the project the momentum it needed after roughly 40 years of discussion. 

But beyond the safety upgrade, real transformation is cultural. “What is that going to look like,” he asked, “when the front door to the San Fernando Valley is a little bit different?” For decades, travelers have affectionately excused the dated airport because of its legendary convenience. Byrne holds a personal record of 32 minutes from alarm to gate. The new terminal is designed to preserve that ease while delivering user-friendly experiences, including a unified security checkpoint, a "Silver Screen” aesthetic evoking the golden age of Hollywood, and a traffic loop that separates TNCs, parking shuttles, and drop-offs before they ever reach the curb. 

One Airport, Not Eight 

Thilenius offered a sweeping view of how LAX arrived at its current $30 billion transformation. What began as a fractured collection of airline-owned terminals has been systematically unified under a landlord-tenant model that gave the airport the leverage to renovate everything at once. Terminal renovations from roughly 2010 to 2020 accounted for the first $15 billion. The next phase focuses on unifying LAX: connecting all terminals airside so a passenger can enter at Terminal 1 and fly from Terminal 4 without re-clearing security, overhauling the arrivals level, and completing the automated people mover that will link the entire complex to Metro rail. 

“The passenger really doesn't know the difference between what real estate belongs to the airport and what belongs to the airline,” Thilenius said. 

Passenger Experience in the Instagram Era 

The panel devoted time explaining passengers’ expectations. The short answer: seamlessness, and the feeling that every moment of the journey is considered. 

For Metro, the proposition is different. Lindholm explained that public transit usually can’t promise a faster door-to-door trip than a car. What it can promise is safety, cleanliness, predictability, and good information. “Every journey is an opportunity to capture a lifelong rider,” he said. “That’s the end game.” 

What Keeps Panelist Up at Night 

With the World Cup underway and LA 2028 on the horizon, the panel's final exchange was candid. For Lindholm, the concern is federal funding. Metro knows exactly what it needs to run Olympic-level service and has the operational plan ready. But with only $89 million committed from the federal government so far, the window to secure support is narrowing. “We’re still hopeful,” he said. “We’re not out of time, yet.” 

For LAX, the challenge is the departure crush, the single Monday when every Olympic team leaves simultaneously. Thilenius described a massive logistical undertaking with temporary baggage screening facilities, thousands of volunteers, and coordination lessons drawn from a visit to Charles de Gaulle during Paris 2024. 

According to Galinis, by the time the Olympics arrive, Burbank’s new terminal will have been open and operational long enough to be fully road-tested. 

Looking Ahead: The Long Game 

Southern California's transit transformation will not be finished by the time the Olympic torch is lit, but the progress since this panel last convened two years ago is real and visible. New subway stops have been added. A unified airport experience is taking shape. The region is finally building the connective tissue to match its ambitions. The Olympics are a milestone. The lasting legacy will come after.