A view of the eastbound 210 freeway in July 2011 before construction began.
A photo of the bridge worksite taken Friday. Photos: Foothill Extension Construction Authority.
Here’s the news release sent Friday from the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, the agency building the Measure R-funded project from Pasadena to the Azusa/Glendora border:
Construction of the temporary structure required more than 20 full closures of the eastbound I-210 Freeway
MONROVIA, Calif. – Today, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority (Construction Authority) announced completion of the temporary false-work for the I-210 Gold Line Bridge. The temporary structure, which crosses the eastbound lanes of the I-210 Freeway, was installed over the last several months and was built to support the bridge superstructure during concrete placement. Because the false-work was erected over an active freeway, the work required more than 20 full closures of the eastbound freeway.
“Completion of false-work activity is a major milestone for the project,” said Gary Baker, Director of Construction for the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority. “Skanska continues to do an outstanding job on the project, which was exemplified these past few months as they designed and built the false-work structure.”
Construction of the false-work commenced in mid-February and required crews to work day and night shifts to install nearly fifty, 90-100 foot long beams (each weighing about 16 tons) across the eastbound lanes, along with hundreds of smaller beams to complete the structure. Over 300 feet of the 584-foot-long structure spans over the eastbound freeway.
“Although temporary, the false-work and subsequent form-work, play a critical role in achieving both the structural and aesthetic requirements of the design. ,” said Mr. Baker. “ Together, they must also support over 5,000 tons of concrete scheduled to be placed during an 18-hour period in May.”
The bridge project is on track for completion in late Summer 2012, andr part of the overall 11.5-mile Foothill Extension Alignment Project.
To learn more or receive construction alerts and project updates, sign-up at: http://www.foothillextension.org/ or follow the project on Facebook and Twitter. To receive text alerts about freeway closures, text from your cell phone “GOLDLINENEWS” to 888777.
About the Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa
The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension is a $1.4 billion project, partially funded by Los Angeles County’s Measure R. The light rail extension is being overseen by the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority and is currently undergoing final design and construction for the Pasadena to Azusa segment and environmental review for the Azusa to Montclair segment. Construction of the 11.5-mile light rail extension to Azusa is on schedule to be completed in 2015, adding six new stations in the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa.
Categories: Projects
I’m going to be the bummer monday morning quarterback commenter here and say…1.4 billion dollars is a lot of money to be spending on a light rail with not that much projected ridership. Placing rail lines because of politics instead of projected ridership is poor practice. Even if there is an existing right of way.
I do like the bridge. But I would’ve preferred seeing a heavy rail line continuing south down Vermont or the Crenshaw line reaching north into West Hollywood. Those are both corridors that have actual urban density, and their multiple nodes (connecting points) would make the rail network much more of a network.
If that 1.4 billion dollars of rail money had to stay in the San Gabriel Valley, isn’t the Alhambra/Monterey Park/San Gabriel area somewhat more dense and promising of growth? At least there’s a Rapid Bus line out there.
Is there any chance of a proposition R2? another half percent, anyone? Another quarter percent?