A Whale of a Bridge Emerges Over the 210 Fwy in Arcadia

By Susan Motander

For the last few weeks and for the next several weeks, the eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway have been closed from midnight to five a.m. five nights a week to allow for the removal of the “falsework” surrounding the new bridge over the 210 freeway. As the wood and metal structure is removed the bridge itself is slowly being revealed.
The cast concrete features of the bridge that are emerging look a great deal like the ventral pleats on the underbelly of a whale. It is an apt image as this is one whale of a bridge. It will span 584 feet from one end to the other, stretching from the center of the 210 Freeway over the eastbound lanes into Arcadia. It will allow the Gold Line to go from Union station beyond its current terminus at Sierra Madre Villa in East Pasadena.
More than 640 full truckloads of cement went into the construction of the bridge along with more than 1000 tons of reinforcement. There are 72,500 feet of rebar used in the three foundation cages. The bridge is so sturdily built that its own weight is being used as a counter balance for the winches that are being used to lift the huge beam that have been supporting the beams while the concrete cured.
The beams are being lifted to allow for the removal of the falsework that supported the beams that allow the frames to be built for the concrete to be poured for the bridge itself. Now that the concrete has dried, the beams, the largest and longest of which are over 90’ long and weigh about 29,000 Lbs.
When the metro begins to roll across the bridge, the wheels will be 33 feet above the roadway, with a 19 ½” foot clearance below for trucks passing under it. By that time, the final creative pieces of the bridge will also be in place. These decorations which will rise over 11” above the track bed and are being fabricated to resemble Native American baskets similar to those used by the original inhabitant of this valley.
The bridge was designed to be a gateway to the San Gabriel Valley. As the Vista del Arroyo Hotel used to welcome travelers to Pasadena, now the Metro Gold Line Extension’s Bridge will be the gateway to the San Gabriel Valley Perhaps when the basketwork like structures are in place, the impression of driving below a breaching whale will lessen.
Skanska, the company, which has been building the bridge, is bringing the project in on time and on budget. According the Lisa Levy-Bush, Director of Public Relations for the Construction Authority, the company’s performance has been so impressive that they were awarded an additional contract to build the extension from the bridge onto the right of way area where the tracts will continue on grade level.
This extension of the Gold Line will take it out to Citrus College in Azusa. Eventually the plan is for the Gold Line to connect Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles with the Ontario Airport in San Bernardino County.

-Photo by Terry Miller

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