210 bridge work begins

Work on the Iconic Freeway Structure — the Gold Line train bridge over the I-210 Foothill Freeway — has begun.

In March 201, before work began on the 210 freeway Gold Line bridge

The center median of the eastbound I-210 is clear and the 500-foot-long retaining wall is well on its way to completion. The retaining  wall is the first step in the construction process, creating the needed wide flat surface for the large construction equipment to access the construction area.

Upon completion of the retaining wall, work will begin on the 110-foot deep foundations. That will be the first time a late night full closure of the eastbound lanes will be needed.

Meanwhile, Habib Balian, CEO of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Authority summarized the status of a lawsuit in a recent e-mail update:

Same area of freeway on August 3 shows the retaining wall.

A lawsuit filed against the project by a property owner within the Maintenance and Operations Facility area opposes the Authority’s purchase of his land for the project. We are working with our state officials to strengthen the language in the 1998 enabling legislation that established the Construction Authority to clarify the governance structure. I want to thank Senator Dr. Ed Hernandez for drafting the legislation over the last few weeks and moving this forward quickly. The Authority board has been made up of local elected officials since the first board members were appointed in 1999. This was done intentionally to make sure that as the Authority designed and built the line, it took the needs of the community into consideration. In fact, that intention has led to the project’s overwhelming support and consensus by elected officials and citizens from throughout the corridor cities. However, we recently were made aware of a conflict in state law that requires us to go back and more clearly spell out this intention and practice in the Authority’s governance language. The proposed legislation will fundamentally mirror  language added to the Expo Construction Authority to resolve a similar issue. Our thanks to  Senator Hernandez and his staff who quickly volunteered to help with this corrective language on the project’s behalf.

— By Scott Hettrick