In addition to all the Gold Line bridge expansion projects set to start soon and continue for a couple years, now comes word that L.A. County is about to undertake a major seismic retrofit project on the railroad bridge over Huntington Drive at Second Avenue that will require lane closures on Huntington starting Jan. 3 for more than three months (14 weeks). That project, which will reinforce the bridge connections to the abutments, needs to be completed before the Gold Line Foothill Extension begins its own work in May 2012 on building a second bridge side-by-side with the current bridge.
Seven weeks of work will be required on each support leg, so contractors will work on one leg at a time and close the outside lane (#2 lane) under the bridge for eastbound traffic for nearly two months, and then close the outside lane of westbound traffic on the opposite side of the street for the next seven weeks, according to city engineer Phil Wray.
Meanwhile, another significant road nearby will be closed sporadically during business hours over the next several months in a completely unrelated project by the MTA to build sound walls along the 210 freeway. The project to build sound walls at various locations between Santa Anita Avenue and California Avenue in Monrovia, began in October 2009 and has caused delays at on-ramps at exit-ramps and lane closures and detours on First Avenue under the freeway bridge ever since. It is already well past its scheduled completion date. First Avenue under the freeway bridge will be closed the rest of this week and for a short while after the first of the year to build the barrier. Contractors will continue to work on the block wall, which will take a few months to complete, according to Wray. Work on the ramps and shoulders won’t get cleaned up until the wall is completely constructed.
— By Scott Hettrick