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Post by culvercitylocke on Jul 7, 2014 9:17:00 GMT -8
driving through the gorgeous neighborhoods of west adams looking at open houses on sunday we drove by the Crenshaw/Expo intersection twice. Tons of staging and heavy equipment are in place in two sites. I presume excavation to place the TBM is ongoing.
Also I was sort of staggered at the unbelievable stupidity of a grade crossing for Expo at Crenshaw. What a terrible, misguided decision that was. all the idiotic effort spent by the community on making the useless farmdale station should have been directed at a grade separation for Crenshaw instead. somehow I'd sort of not noticed it was at grade, despite having ridden expo so many times.
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Post by culvercitylocke on Jul 24, 2014 9:36:48 GMT -8
According to the source, Patsouras--the guy who kicked ass on the 405 carpool lanes and finally got it finished--is being put in charge of Crenshaw by Garcetti.
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Post by metrocenter on Sept 15, 2014 14:04:27 GMT -8
It's been awhile since the last update. The big news: Crenshaw Subway is under construction!
Over the summer, contractors began work on three underground stations: Crenshaw/Expo, Crenshaw/MLK and Leimert Park. Leimert Park is just starting. Crenshaw/Expo is the furthest along, with station box excavation to begin this week. Pile installation will continue this week at the other two stations.
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Sept 17, 2014 11:17:39 GMT -8
The Crenshaw subway construction is indeed going at a fast pace, land clearing, tracks removed, streets opened for station building. Also, station naming by Metro.
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Post by matthewb on Sept 22, 2014 0:40:24 GMT -8
It's been awhile since the last update. The big news: Crenshaw Subway is under construction! Over the summer, contractors began work on three underground stations: Crenshaw/Expo, Crenshaw/MLK and Leimert Park. Leimert Park is just starting. Crenshaw/Expo is the furthest along, with station box excavation to begin this week. Pile installation will continue this week at the other two stations. Anyone want to post pictures?
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Post by bzcat on Sept 30, 2014 16:41:09 GMT -8
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Post by bzcat on Oct 8, 2014 10:56:29 GMT -8
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Dec 3, 2014 11:00:18 GMT -8
I was in the area of Expo/Crenshaw for dinner and snapped this photo of the excavation of the station area for Crenshaw Line using some very tall equipment. There aren't any tall buildings in the area so this makes for quite a scene until District Square resumes construction, which for now seems to have been paused. I'm curious if there will be tail tracks that extend in the underground beyond the Expo Line north a bit to prevent interfering with the surface rail line should have to be connected to a system going north in the future.
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Dec 3, 2014 13:32:20 GMT -8
I'm curious if there will be tail tracks that extend in the underground beyond the Expo Line north a bit to prevent interfering with the surface rail line should have to be connected to a system going north in the future. Answered my own question: no tail tracks, the tunnel in this review document has the tunnel ending a few feet before the Expo Line ROW. This ought to make extending the line north an interesting feat.
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Post by rubbertoe on Dec 3, 2014 16:24:54 GMT -8
I'm curious if there will be tail tracks that extend in the underground beyond the Expo Line north a bit to prevent interfering with the surface rail line should have to be connected to a system going north in the future. Answered my own question: no tail tracks, the tunnel in this review document has the tunnel ending a few feet before the Expo Line ROW. This ought to make extending the line north an interesting feat. View AttachmentWouldn't the feasibility of going further North also depend on whether the TBM goes in right there and drives South, versus starting somewhere South and driving up to the end there? If the latter, you would think they could have extended the tail tracks a bit further up Crenshaw past Exposition. Maybe that would have ended up costing too much since they would have to find a place to dig the TBM out? RT
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Post by rubbertoe on Dec 3, 2014 16:41:46 GMT -8
Per the July 2012 SEAR, the TBM is going in at Crenshaw/Exposition and driving South.
RT
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Dec 4, 2014 10:12:50 GMT -8
Per the July 2012 SEAR, the TBM is going in at Crenshaw/Exposition and driving South. RT This is probably going to make for a really ugly shutdown of the Expo Line if Metro ever funds a Crenshaw Line extension north to Hollywood via Mid City, as they'd have to dig up the Expo Line trackbed and excavate via "cut and cover" in order to connect the Crenshaw Line south tunnel to the north tunnel. An example is how the 7th St/Flower St tail tracks for Blue/Expo put the connection area of the Region Connector tunnel far away from the station; but imagine if there were no tail tracks and a surface line existing in the "cut and cover" excavation zone. There being no tunnel north of the Expo Line near negates some of the advantage of why the Crenshaw Line is below grade at the intersection, it was originally designed to be at street level, but switched to below grade for the possibility of extension northward to Hollywood. Below grade keeps both lines from interacting, but it also increases impact on the Expo Line during what could be a lengthy service shutdown, unless they do a Gold Line Little Tokyo Station type of mitigation over the impact area and that's still a big impact. ...but, I digress.
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Post by bzcat on Dec 4, 2014 10:51:17 GMT -8
I don't think it is that complicated to extend Crenshaw line north. You can put the Expo line on a temporary bypass bridge while you do open cut. NYC rebuild the entire World Trade Center station complex using cut and cover method and had 6 subway and PATH line bypass without taking any trains out of service. We are only talking about 1 line (Expo) being impacted here.
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Post by Transit Coalition on Dec 4, 2014 14:03:36 GMT -8
Per the July 2012 SEAR, the TBM is going in at Crenshaw/Exposition and driving South. RT This is probably going to make for a really ugly shutdown of the Expo Line if Metro ever funds a Crenshaw Line extension north to Hollywood via Mid City, as they'd have to dig up the Expo Line trackbed and excavate via "cut and cover" in order to connect the Crenshaw Line south tunnel to the north tunnel. An example is how the 7th St/Flower St tail tracks for Blue/Expo put the connection area of the Region Connector tunnel far away from the station; but imagine if there were no tail tracks and a surface line existing in the "cut and cover" excavation zone. There being no tunnel north of the Expo Line near negates some of the advantage of why the Crenshaw Line is below grade at the intersection, it was originally designed to be at street level, but switched to below grade for the possibility of extension northward to Hollywood. Below grade keeps both lines from interacting, but it also increases impact on the Expo Line during what could be a lengthy service shutdown, unless they do a Gold Line Little Tokyo Station type of mitigation over the impact area and that's still a big impact. ...but, I digress. Much worry about nothing. Shoofly (US) A temporary stretch of track that takes trains around construction or an accident scene.
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Dec 22, 2014 14:37:25 GMT -8
Crenshaw Boulevard at Exposition and Rodeo re-opened Sunday. Here's the completed decking of the subway station. The crane is located where the station entrance will be in the upper left distance. To the middle and far right there is a development of an urban style shopping center called District Square. Construction materials are beginning to be staged for opening up Crenshaw Boulevard at Martin Luther King Boulevard for a subway station on the same side as the freshly renovated Crenshaw Baldwin Hills Mall There are K rails and shuttered business opposite this side of the street in anticipation for digging the famous Leimert Park Village station. The site in the picture will be the location of the Leimert Park subway station entrance, which is on the same side as the handsome Village shops a stones throw away from the Leimert Park Plaza which was hosting its monthly Art Walk. The latticed spire in the background is an ornament on the Vision Theater, a 1930s era Howard Hughes built movie palace seen here.
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Dec 23, 2014 10:30:37 GMT -8
Big news: Crenshaw/MLK station area is going mixed use and medium density: "Capri Capital Partners, the Chicago-based owner of Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, is planning to redevelop their 43-acre property with over 2 million square feet of new office space, housing, retail space and hotel rooms." (Source: Building LA) Across the street is the site of a new Kaiser hospital, "project offers a four-story, 105,000 square foot building, surrounded by surface parking lots and a landscaped central plaza. The plaza, which will be open to the public, allows for cut-through pedestrian traffic between the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping mall and the residential neighborhood to the west." (Source: Building LA) This and the subway are great news for the area especially the affluent View Park/Baldwin Hills area adjacent to this develop (which I have family) who normally have to leave the area to shop or be entertained and are transported by auto.
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Post by fissure on Dec 24, 2014 10:37:04 GMT -8
Across the street is the site of a new Kaiser hospital, "project offers a four-story, 105,000 square foot building, surrounded by surface parking lots and a landscaped central plaza. Because nothing says "I'm near a subway station and very walkable" like parking lots.
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elray
Junior Member
Posts: 84
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Post by elray on Dec 29, 2014 11:29:35 GMT -8
Across the street is the site of a new Kaiser hospital, "project offers a four-story, 105,000 square foot building, surrounded by surface parking lots and a landscaped central plaza. Because nothing says "I'm near a subway station and very walkable" like parking lots. Car-hate noted, but if you consider the demographic that patronizes Kaiser, you might see a majority population that really isn't up for walking 12+ blocks (6x2) to access transit, nor do the timing and duration of Doctor appointments necessarily mesh well with transit schedules - with transfers, not all travel is during peak, daylight hours. A large swath of Kaiser personnel aren't going to use transit either, given the number of transfers involved and the safety issues (perceived or real, though I doubt this location is going to fix its ills.) (I take transit to Kaiser about half the time - when I can afford to spend an extra two hours and I enjoy walking two miles, but that isn't always the case when you're not fit, injured, not feeling well, or you have kids with you.)
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Post by metrocenter on Jan 26, 2015 8:59:37 GMT -8
The Source reported earlier this month that a the January Metro Board meeting (this Thursday), the board is planning to vote on approving the following station names for the Crenshaw/LAX Line: - Expo/Crenshaw
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Leimert Park (formerly Crenshaw/Vernon)
- Hyde Park (formerly Crenshaw/Slauson)
- Fairview Heights (formerly Florence/West)
- Downtown Inglewood (formerly Florence/La Brea)
- Florence/Hindry
- Aviation/Century
These names would be both the official names and the operational names of the stations. I will add two things. First, I don't see these on the Board agenda at all (maybe they were postponed to February). And second, I notice that 96th/Aviation station (which is being added for the LAX connection) is not on the list. I wonder when this station will become "official". Anyway, something to chew on. In the meantime, progress continues on actual construction. All excavation for the three subterranean stations is now completely below ground, with no further need for major traffic detours.
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Post by masonite on Jan 26, 2015 9:25:02 GMT -8
The Source reported earlier this month that a the January Metro Board meeting (this Thursday), the board is planning to vote on approving the following station names for the Crenshaw/LAX Line: - Expo/Crenshaw
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Leimert Park (formerly Crenshaw/Vernon)
- Hyde Park (formerly Crenshaw/Slauson)
- Fairview Heights (formerly Florence/West)
- Downtown Inglewood (formerly Florence/La Brea)
- Florence/Hindry
- Aviation/Century
These names would be both the official names and the operational names of the stations. I will add two things. First, I don't see these on the Board agenda at all (maybe they were postponed to February). And second, I notice that 96th/Aviation station (which is being added for the LAX connection) is not on the list. I wonder when this station will become "official". Anyway, something to chew on. In the meantime, progress continues on actual construction. All excavation for the three subterranean stations is now completely below ground, with no further need for major traffic detours. I like the names. Thanks for the update on the construction. We hear so little about Crenshaw and I don't follow that closely myself so it is good to see.
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Post by chuckchuck on Jan 26, 2015 10:35:35 GMT -8
I like most except Hyde Park and Fairview Heights names. Crenshaw/Slauson is much more informative than Hyde Park for most people and that general area is often referred to by the name of this intersection. Besides this location is more Angeles Mesa than Hyde Park which is more southeast of that intersection concentrated along the BNSF rail right of way. Fairview Heights isn't great either for similar reasons. While the intersection of Florence and West doesn't provide the same sense of place that Slauson/Crenshaw does it is more readily identifiable than Fairview Heights, which isn't even a commonly used name for the area.
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Post by TransportationZ on Jan 26, 2015 11:14:16 GMT -8
I like most except Hyde Park and Fairview Heights names. Crenshaw/Slauson is much more informative than Hyde Park for most people and that general area is often referred to by the name of this intersection. Besides this location is more Angeles Mesa than Hyde Park which is more southeast of that intersection concentrated along the BNSF rail right of way. Fairview Heights isn't great either for similar reasons. While the intersection of Florence and West doesn't provide the same sense of place that Slauson/Crenshaw does it is more readily identifiable than Fairview Heights, which isn't even a commonly used name for the area. I agree about Crenshaw/Slauson. Crenshaw/Slauson is like Hollywood/Vine to people who know and live in the area. I didn't even know the area was called Hyde Park until I read the post. This is all part of this initiative to name stations after the communities. The problem is unless the name is widely used among Angelenos across the basin, the name is utterly useless.
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Post by bzcat on Jan 26, 2015 11:34:53 GMT -8
Hyde Park is ok... enough people know about it and it is roughly in the correct geographic region. Fairview Heights is obscure and probably not a good choice. The key to station name must be that it is in common use and geographically correct. Other than that, there should be no set in stone rules.
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Post by culvercitylocke on Jan 26, 2015 15:27:04 GMT -8
Hyde Park and fairview heights should thrill house flippers and hipsters since it avoids using scary "black" associated words like Crenshaw or slausen. Those are definitely pro gentrification station names. Note, sarcasm.
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Post by masonite on Jan 26, 2015 15:42:07 GMT -8
Hyde Park and fairview heights should thrill house flippers and hipsters since it avoids using scary "black" associated words like Crenshaw or slausen. Those are definitely pro gentrification station names. Note, sarcasm. Some long time residents take pride in those neighborhoods and names too.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jan 26, 2015 17:58:29 GMT -8
Thanks for the update Joel. But regarding no need for detours...there was a detour this past weekend and another is scheduled for the upcoming weekend.
As for the Hyde Park name I like it. I thought that Hyde Park was the name of the neighborhood in the 60's and 70's but if it includes slauson then that's cool. I actually dislike names that use crenshaw/whatever , Expo/whatever.
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Post by joshuanickel on Jan 26, 2015 19:11:32 GMT -8
Anyway, something to chew on. In the meantime, progress continues on actual construction. All excavation for the three subterranean stations is now completely below ground, with no further need for major traffic detours. That is not true. There will be some major traffic detours coming up in the near future. Here is the current status of each underground station: Expo/Crenshaw The steel soldier piles and Cutter-Soil Mix wall panels have been installed down each side of Crenshaw and the decking has been placed on the street to begin excavation from underneath. MLK/Crenshaw The steel soldier piles have been installed and they will now begin to install the Cutter-Soil Mix wall panels between the piles. After that is finished, the street will be decked over to begin excavation. Leimert Park The installation of the steel soldier pile has begun.
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Post by metrocenter on Jan 27, 2015 8:50:41 GMT -8
^ Yes, I stand corrected. There will still be "major traffic detours" and closures. Just no more "full" closures for awhile, of the kind which we've seen frequently over the past several months.
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Jan 27, 2015 9:09:34 GMT -8
The Source reported earlier this month that a the January Metro Board meeting (this Thursday), the board is planning to vote on approving the following station names for the Crenshaw/LAX Line: - Expo/Crenshaw
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Leimert Park (formerly Crenshaw/Vernon)
- Hyde Park (formerly Crenshaw/Slauson)
- Fairview Heights (formerly Florence/West)
- Downtown Inglewood (formerly Florence/La Brea)
- Florence/Hindry
- Aviation/Century
These names would be both the official names and the operational names of the stations. I will add two things. First, I don't see these on the Board agenda at all (maybe they were postponed to February). And second, I notice that 96th/Aviation station (which is being added for the LAX connection) is not on the list. I wonder when this station will become "official". Anyway, something to chew on. In the meantime, progress continues on actual construction. All excavation for the three subterranean stations is now completely below ground, with no further need for major traffic detours. Not a fan of "Hyde Park" or "Fairview Heights" as selected names, it's hard to tell where that is and I don't know anyone that uses those names. Leimert Park and Downtown Inglewood are excellent naming choices, however. I'm usually not a huge fan of just using generic intersection names but MLK/Crenshaw is probably the most commonly referred to intersection on the entire route except for perhaps Aviation/Century, which should have added LAX in there somehow. Stripping Crenshaw from the station names might have some kind of nefarious subtext, I can't place my finger on what, but it might stand in the way of reclaiming the name as a good place by denuding it to keep from offending "other" that might ride the line in the future. Plus, there's plenty more street closures ahead for Crenshaw Blvd, I was there as recently as Saturday and Crenshaw/Expo was closed to through traffic again, and the MLK/Crenshaw and Vernon/Crenshaw areas haven't even been decked for excavation yet. By the way, have you seen this video about how Metro constructs underground stations? It's essentially the same process for Crenshaw Blvd, though for shorter underground stations and platforms, I don't understand why this kind of transparency and outreach wasn't sent to people like my family in the Crenshaw and Baldwin Hills district about their main thoroughfare.
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Post by bzcat on Jan 27, 2015 11:23:26 GMT -8
Aviation/Century didn't get the "LAX" name appendix because Aviation/96th Street is at this point more likely to happen than not. The LAX name needs to go the station where the APM will connect.
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