A look at crossovers on Purple (D Line) Extension’s first section
In classic crime stories, someone calling you a “double crosser” was a bad omen. It might indicate … a rough road ahead, to say it one way. In subway [continue reading]
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Ned Racine
Temporary decking removed at future Wilshire/Fairfax Station for Purple (D Line) Extension
The Purple Line (D Line) Extension reached a major milestone earlier this month when the design-builder (STS) completed the removal of temporary decking of the street at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. Originally expected to require 13 weekends of work — including the pausing of work for [continue reading]
New Location 64 Maintenance of Way building is now complete
Some Metro facilities will never be visited by transit riders but are crucial for maintaining the Metro Rail system they ride. One of these facilities was just completed in the Arts District south of Union Station. Metro’s Location 64 Maintenance of Way (MOW) building at 590 South Santa Fe Avenue [continue reading]
Metro gets new maintenance building in the DTLA Arts District
To maintain the Metro Rail System, the agency has numerous buildings that its riders never enter but are crucial to moving them across the county. One of these structures is [continue reading]
Construction begins on connecting Wilshire/Western Station to Purple Line Extension
Most of the construction on the Purple Line Extension thus far has involved construction of the first three new stations. But work began this week on the critical task of [continue reading]
Tunneling machines for Purple Line Extension under construction in Germany
The Purple Line Extension is expecting twin tunnel boring machines, but they will not arrive in Los Angeles until this fall. The TBMs will be lowered into the ground in [continue reading]
Why Do Back-Up Alarms Have To Be Noisy?
When they are working as intended, back-up alarms—in common with some forms of modern music—broadcast annoying sounds for several blocks. The I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project has been trying to do something about this. The answer may rely on a duck or, at least, the sound of a duck. Back-up [continue reading]
Amtrak offers 50 percent discount for travel between Union Station and Bob Hope Airport during Carmageddon
Travelers heading from Los Angeles Union Station downtown to Burbank Bob Hope Airport between July 15 and July 17—during the Mulholland Bridge partial demolition and 405 freeway closure in the Sepulveda Pass—can receive a 50 percent discount from Amtrak. Amtrak describes the offer as an effort to support travelers during [continue reading]
How do you explain pile driving to first graders?
In late January, three days before nearby pile driving would begin, two members of the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project team stood before 35 kindergarten and first-graders to demonstrate how bridges are built. Using a handmade bridge model, potting soil, chocolate pudding, nails and a glass of water, Kasey Shuda, [continue reading]
How do you drill under a river of traffic?
On a typical Wednesday in February 2009, over 120,000 vehicles flow east and west past Veteran Avenue on Wilshire Boulevard. If only one person sits in each car — not entirely impossible in Southern California, although unlikely — the number of people traveling on that stretch of Wilshire would exceed [continue reading]