Groundbreaking held this morning for I-5/Carmenita Road interchange project

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Public officials held a groundbreaking on Wednesday morning for a project to improve the Carmenita/I-5 interchange. As the Google satellite view above shows, the bridge is two lanes wide at present. A new bridge will widen it to 10 lanes, according to Caltrans, with a scheduled completion date of 2015.

This is a key Measure R road project that is one of six projects that seek to widen the 5 freeway between the 605 and the Orange County line. As many motorists know, this stretch of the 5 in Los Angeles County south of downtown is often three lanes in each direction and then widens considerably in the OC. The Carmenita bridge has to be replaced in order for widening to take palce.

It’s good news that the project is getting started. But readers should also know this: if a state budget isn’t adopted soon, then it’s possible that a state bond sale scheduled for this fall won’t take place. Those bonds would help fund this project.

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Construction to begin in coming weeks on Gold Line Foothill Extension bridge over 210

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The bridge that will carry the Foothill Extension over the eastbound lanes of the 210 freeway.

Here’s the update from the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, the independent agency building the line from Pasadena to Azusa.

There’s a nice gallery of renderings and photos at the Construction Authority’s website.

This is a Measure R funded project and the update says construction will start in the coming weeks:

After nearly a year of final design work, permit approvals, subcontractor hiring, and much more, construction on the I-210 Bridge is about to start in the coming weeks. 

The first step will be to prepare the site and provide access for the large construction equipment. The center median slope will be removed and a temporary retaining wall will be built to support the westbound lanes. This work will take approximately a month to complete. Once the retaining wall is installed, work will begin on the bridge’s foundations.

Initial foundation work will consist of drilling several deep steel-reinforced concrete foundations (called piles) ranging in size from 3 to 11 feet in diameter and up to 110 feet below ground. Once the foundations are ready, construction of the bridge structure itself will begin in the Fall. To protect the freeway during the year-long construction, a temporary support (called falsework) will be installed across the eastbound freeway lanes.  

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The art of transit

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photo by Stu Mayhew, via Flickr

Nice shot taken with an iPhone’s Hipstamatic app of a foggy London train platform.

To submit a photo for the Art of Transit, post it to Metro’s Flickr group, email it to sourcemetro@gmail.com or Tweet it to @metrolosangeles with an #artoftransit hashtag. Many of the photos we’ve featured can be seen in these galleries on Flickr.

Metro Board to vote on free subway and Orange line service during 405 closure

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The Metro Board of Directors meet on Thursday for a meeting that should be fairly subdued compared to some of their recent monthly get-togethers.

The item likely to be of interest to most people: The Board must formally approve free subway and Orange Line busway service on the weekend of July 16-17, when the 405 will be mostly closed between the 10 and 101 for the partial demolition of the Mulholland Bridge.

The free subway service had been previously announced; the addition of free Orange Line busway service is now being sought. I don’t expect this to be very controversial, given that public officials — including many on the Board — have been encouraging the public to plan ahead for the 405 closure and/or to avoid driving that weekend.

Transportation headlines, Wednesday, June 22

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Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the library’s blog.

Right track for Los Angeles is light rail (Daily News)

Columnist Doug McIntyre relaxes on a train on the East Coast and decides a rail line through/over the Sepulveda Pass is the best way to help Valley commuters. Interesting talk from the Daily News, which at times has expressed serious skepticism over a Westside subway.

Divided L.A. Council can’t decide on red light cameras (L.A. Times)

No surprise here. The Council couldn’t decide whether to resurrect the red light cameras or get rid of them, as recommended by the city’s Police Commission. It’s rather amazing that it’s 2011 and the nation’s second-largest city is still discussing how to grapple with a serious public safety issue such as this. I covered one of the Council’s previous red light camera discussions and it was a lobbyistpalooza.

In London, bike commuters now the majority in some places (Grist)

There’s still plenty of cars in London, but there has also been a steady uptick in the number of cyclists on some routes. This has led to a backlash against cyclists, often for the way they ride — sometimes carelessly — and to some extent because cyclists tend to be young and hip and trying to buck against the mainstream idea that you have to have a car to survive.

Regional Connector team hosts community meetings in advance of environmental certification

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The Regional Connector will allow "one-seat rides" in either direction between the Westside and East L.A., and between the San Gabriel Valley and Long Beach.

Thousands of new boardings system-wide. Reduced transfers saving up to 20 minutes on some trips. An 11-minute ride from Union Station across downtown to Pico Station. Increased service efficiency. New transit stations in the employment heart of Los Angeles County.

Take your pick, because the 1.9-mile Regional Connector has something for everyone. For those reasons and many others, it’s no surprise that this Measure R project scores high marks on federal cost-effectiveness evaluations.

When completed, the project will connect the Blue, Gold and future Expo lines with three new underground stations, creating one seamless system.

Tuesday’s meeting was an opportunity for Metro staff to update community members and stakeholders on the project’s status and to receive community feedback. Scrupulous readers of The Source will recall that the Metro Board of Directors approved the draft environmental plan in October 2010 and selected a fully-underground option for the light rail connector.

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Transit forecast for Wednesday, June 22

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For a complete list of planned service advisories please visit the Service Advisories page on Metro.net. And for the latest service alerts follow @MetroLAalerts on Twitter.

Green Line

Due to system maintenance from 9am to 2pm, westbound trains to Redondo Beach will run 4 minutes earlier than regular schedule.

  • Westbound trains to Redondo Beach will depart Norwalk at 9:07am, 9:22am, 9:37am, 9:52am and every 15 minutes until 1:52pm, then regular schedule.
  • During this time, trains in both directions will share ONE track at Vermont Green Line Station. Please check train destination signs and announcements before boarding.

Dates: today only.

Gold Line

Due to vehicle testing after 9pm, southbound trains to East LA or Union Station may depart Sierra Madre Villa 2 minutes later than normal.

  • Southbound trains may depart Sierra Madre Villa at 9:22pm, 9:42pm, 10:02pm, 10:22pm and every 20 minutes until last train at 12:40am. Times are approximate and subject to minor work related delays.
  • Southbound trips continuing to East LA Atlantic will depart on regular schedule from Union Station.
  • During this time, trains in both directions will share ONE track at Allen Station. Please check train destination signs and announcements before boarding.

Dates: today only.

Lines 16/316, 18, 053, 062, 460, 720

Due to community event the listed lines will be on detour between San Pedro St. & Wall St.

  • Line 16
    Westbound Only:     Regular route to San Pedro St. and 6th St., then continue via San Pedro St. to (L) 3rd St., (L) Los Angeles St., (R) 5th St. and regular route.
  • Lines 18, 53, 62, & 720
    Westbound Only:     Regular route to 5th St. and Towne Ave., then continue via 5th St. to (R) San Pedro St., (L) 3rd St., (L) Los Angeles St., (R) 5th St. and regular route.
  • Line 460
    To Disneyland Only:     Regular route to San Pedro St. and 6th St., then continue via San Pedro St. to (L) 3rd St., (L) Los Angeles St., (R) 5th St. and regular route.

Dates: today only.

Blue Line

After 8:15pm, Blue Line trains run every 30 minutes due to construction work for the future Expo Line.  Please see schedule here.

Dates: through Thursday.

After the jump: service advisories for Red Line, Lines 2, 233 & 761 and Line 48. Continue reading →