By Terry Miller
Last week the online architecture site ArchDaily released its Top 100 Projects of the last decade.
The release of this prestigious list commemorated the site’s 10-year anniversary and was comprised of projects they felt were the most important and inspiring from around the world, over that period.
After reviewing thousands of projects, ArchDaily selected the Gold Line Bridge in Arcadia (across the 210 Freeway) as one of the Top 100.
Spanning 584 feet, over the Foothill (210) Freeway, the Arcadia Gold Line Bridge is the most visible part of the 11.5-mile eastward extension project that leads through Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and Azusa.
The $18.6-million-bridge, completed on time and on budget, is only one element of the $1.2 billion extension project through the valley, according to Habib Balian, CEO of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority.
Artist Andrew Leicester, who is the winning designer for the Metro Gold Line Bridge project, came up with the concept of the bridge baskets, intertwining the idea of transportation with Native American basket-making.
The bridge baskets are made of 60 stacked segments and weigh 800 pounds each. They also came with the hefty cost of $500,000 to create and install.
