According to the website of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, a $38.5 million grant from the California Transportation Commission will allow Metro to move forward with the long-awaited modernization of the Willowbrook-Rosa Parks Station. Rosa Parks Station - situated in the unincorporated community of Willowbrook - is the 4th busiest in the Metro Rail network, serving more than 30,000 daily passengers on the Blue and Green Lines. However, due to its location amidst the bowels of the 105 Freeway, the station has frequently been criticized for its spartan amenities and poor pedestrian accessibility. Metro’s $40-$45 million renovation will address many of these complaints through a series of improvements which include: The project also calls for a new central plaza with improved access to a nearby shopping center on Wilmington Avenue. Ground breaking for the Rosa Parks Station renovation is expected to occur in 2017, with completion anticipated by 2018. The project is one component of a larger $1 billion plan to improve the Willowbrook community with new public amenities such as the revamped MLK Medical Campus.