The City of Freeways May Get a Subway, But Don't Bet on It --- After 79-Year Delay, Project Is Set for Summer Start; Manhattanization of L.A.?
LOS ANGELES -- This production has been 79 years in the making.</br></br>It has gone through 25 revisions and generations of stars and bit players, including Ronald Reagan. Since the initial investment of $3 million, its budget has ballooned to more than $3 billion.</br></br>But it isn't an expensive motion picture from an ego-tripping Hollywood mogul. It is an 18-mile subway system that is scheduled to break ground here this summer.</br></br>Like many Angelenos, comedian Johnny Carson is leery of the plan. "It will never be built," he says. Even if it is, he doesn't plan to use it. "It's frightening enough to ride above ground in L.A.," he says.</br></br>Since railroad tycoon E.H. Harriman got the initial construction permit for the subway in 1907, the project has been voted down by the citizenry four times. It has also had to compete with Southern California's love affair with the automobile.