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Post by roadtrainer on Mar 12, 2013 17:45:17 GMT -8
So what's the story? Skanska can't lay away rail because of the PUC? Or is it because they didn't have the FNTP?
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 12, 2013 19:22:47 GMT -8
So what's the story? Skanska can't lay away rail because of the PUC? Or is it because they didn't have the FNTP? They do have the full notice to proceed. However, they still don't have the CPUC approval and no rail can be laid until then. Regardless, they aren't to the point to lay tracks yet anyway, as they first need to finish the ductbanks and OCS foundations. According to expolinefan, they want to start laying tracks in June or so. Hopefully, CPUC will approve it long before then.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 13, 2013 13:33:19 GMT -8
There is now a coyote living by the tracks in the bushes between Palms Park and the freeway tunnel. It comes out after sunset and it's feeding on the Palms Park cats. The cats were protected by the trench and park fencing but the trench is now filled to the level of the Palms Park for the Expo Line and the park fences were removed as part of the construction converting the park into sports fields.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 13, 2013 14:32:58 GMT -8
There is now a coyote living by the tracks in the bushes between Palms Park and the freeway tunnel. It comes out after sunset and it's feeding on the Palms Park cats. The cats were protected by the trench and park fencing but the trench is now filled to the level of the Palms Park for the Expo Line and the park fences were removed as part of the construction converting the park into sports fields. One of the regular feeders told me that the coyotes (usually two, sometimes one) are feeding mostly on the dry cat food left there, not on the cats. However, one of the older and slower cats may possibly have been taken by them.
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Post by roadtrainer on Mar 13, 2013 16:03:00 GMT -8
There is now a coyote living by the tracks in the bushes between Palms Park and the freeway tunnel. It comes out after sunset and it's feeding on the Palms Park cats. The cats were protected by the trench and park fencing but the trench is now filled to the level of the Palms Park for the Expo Line and the park fences were removed as part of the construction converting the park into sports fields. One of the regular feeders told me that the coyotes (usually two, sometimes one) are feeding mostly on the dry cat food left there, not on the cats. However, one of the older and slower cats may possibly have been taken by them. :)i t's time tocall the dog pound and get rid of the coyetes, before they start bitting kids and rail fans with cameras!
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 14, 2013 13:28:32 GMT -8
Recently they also started working on the platform area of the Palms Station. Mainly grading and marking the ground with sticks. No pictures yet.
Palms Station is perhaps the most complicated structure on the alignment because of the unusual configuration.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 15, 2013 10:10:50 GMT -8
Project-status update from expolinefan (with minor edits):
Hi Everyone
I hope you all will enjoy my Project Status for the Expo Line Phase-2
Since the First of the Year the progress made by Skanska/Rados the phase-2 contractor is stunning
Sometimes if you blink it almost seams like things change right before your eyes
Enjoy the List Below Dwight, S This Progress Report is Just from Personal Observations along the ROW and is no way Official News or Information about Expo Phase-2 This is just to give you an idea to the work on going
Venice Blvd to Bagley Ave Balfour Beatty has started abutment work on the west side of Venice Blvd. and Prep work for the Support columns in Venice Blvd is Starting Mid March
Work on the west side of Venice Blvd Abutment can’t happen till Balfour Beatty Construction clears the area and then can start the MSE walls from the Venice abutment down to the ROW grade.
LADWP has removed all High Voltage Power lines and telecom & Fiber is all that Remains
Bagley Ave to Palms Blvd Once the retaining wall is done this area it can get backfilled and compacted - then grading of the ROW and OCS can take Place and then work on the duct-bank piping for communication circuits.
Palms Station The abutment foundation work is done and the falsework installation has been put in place, the Form work for bridge is done and now the Steel workers are putting the Re-Bar Supports in the form work. The Area for the TPSS is being cleared. from my observations the crews from Skanska/Rados are making lighting fast work of this bridge
Palms Blvd to Motor Ave The retaining wall is done the area west of the Station area and is getting backfilled and compacted - the grading of the ROW and OCS is starting.
Motor Ave Bridge the old Motor Ave Bridge is gone and soon the falsework installation can start for the bridge. The delay on the new bridge is that Caltrans has to approve the design since the edge of the bridge is in there ROW
Motor Ave to I-10 This area is ready for grading and OCS foundations.
I-10 to Overland Ave The ROW is graded and OCS foundations are done. The duct-bank piping for communication circuits is done and ready for cables.
Overland Ave to Westwood Blvd The ROW is graded and OCS foundations are done. The duct-bank piping for communication circuits is done and ready for cables. The Sound wall supports are being installed.
Westwood Blvd to Military Ave The ROW is graded and OCS foundations are done and the duct-bank piping for communication circuits is done and ready for cables. The Sound wall supports are installed.
Military Ave to Sepulveda Blvd After the Sepulveda Station Parking is done then the removal of the temporary parking on the ROW just west of Military (this is for LA-Traffic dept) can be done. Then MSE wall work leading to the Sepulveda Blvd eastern abutment can start. Should be some time this Fall-2013
Sepulveda Blvd Station The abutments Bents 1 & 4 are done and the station legs Bents 2 & 3 are 80% done and now the falsework installation and form work is ongoing. LADWP is set to remove there lines as they are done at Bundy ave.
Sepulveda Blvd to Sawtelle Blvd There is limited work right now as the I-405 project is currently working above the ROW. The Only work is on BENT-1 the Eastern Abutment Next to Sawtelle Blvd. Once the crews working on the I-405 clear the area of the ROW under the Highway the MSE walls from Sepulveda Bent-4 to Sawtelle Bent-1 can be Installed
Sawtelle Blvd to Pico Blvd The work started at this location in early January the smaller Mid Span Columns are 70%done and work on the Large Columns in and around the west side of Pico will be done end of March.
The abutment foundation east of Sawtelle is almost done it is currently at 60% Done
Pico Blvd to Barrington Ave The Pico west abutment is finished next will be the MSE walls to bring the ROW down to Grade level. The ROW is graded and OCS foundations are done just west of the Pico Abutment. The duct-bank piping for communication circuits are ongoing in this area and almost ready for cables.
Barrington Ave to Bundy Dr Currently the Sound wall supports are done and the first of the wall panels are being placed. The Eastern abutment at Bundy is done and soon the MSE work can start to bring the ROW back up from Street Level to the Station height.
The ROW is graded and OCS foundations are done. The duct-bank piping for communication circuits is done and ready for cables and the Sound wall supports are installed and the Wall panels are starting to be installed.
Bundy Blvd Station The abutments, Bents 1 & 4 are done and the station legs Bents 2 are Done and Bent-3 are 60% done and work is on-going with the backfilling on the east side of Bundy so that falsework installation can start for the Bridge and Station. LADWP has now finished removing all of there power lines and all that is left is SCE and the Phone Co.
Bundy Dr to Centinela Ave The Foundations to support the MSE walls are all most done the MSE wall Panels have arrived and will be put in place over next few weeks this will make the area from PICO to Centinela a raised earth filled track-way
Centinela Ave to 26th Street The ROW is graded and OCS foundations are done. The next thing to be done in this area is duct-bank piping for communication circuits.
26th Street Station Area The building at 2525 Michigan Ave has come down to make room for the future Colorado/26th Street station. The ROW is graded and OCS foundations are done. The next thing to be done in this area is duct-bank piping for communication circuits. After this work is completed work on station are can start.
Overland & Olympic Bridge The 2 Abutments, Bent 1-6 and the 4 Columns, BENTS -2-3-4-5 are done and the falsework installation and form work is ongoing.
The Street Running Area In Santa Monica At this time Only Action is Utility Relocation, The building at 430 Colorado Ave has Come down to make room for the future Colorado/4th St station!
This Progress Report is Just from Personal Observations along the ROW and is no way Official News or Information about Expo Phase-2 This is just to give you an idea to the work ongoing.
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Post by rubbertoe on Mar 16, 2013 7:45:11 GMT -8
There is now a coyote living by the tracks in the bushes between Palms Park and the freeway tunnel. It comes out after sunset and it's feeding on the Palms Park cats. The cats were protected by the trench and park fencing but the trench is now filled to the level of the Palms Park for the Expo Line and the park fences were removed as part of the construction converting the park into sports fields. One of the regular feeders told me that the coyotes (usually two, sometimes one) are feeding mostly on the dry cat food left there, not on the cats. However, one of the older and slower cats may possibly have been taken by them. Getting old definitely sucks, even more so when there are hungry coyotes around RT
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Post by roadtrainer on Mar 16, 2013 17:07:44 GMT -8
Great pictures, Darrell! I noticed how little clearance there is between the soffit of the 405 bridge and the top of the abutment (rebars). It looks like the trains won't be able to fit in between but apparently it's only an illusion. (Some days are inspiring to go out and photograph. Yesterday was one of those for me, and I couldn't wait to find what I got! And I only saw downtown L.A. in the Bundy photo once it was on my computer.) Remember this 5/11/12 Skanska image and profile diagram? And RMoses, I believe they don't have to lower Sawtelle like the Final EIR envisioned, probably due to this through-girder bridge design. Gokham: Do you have a print of the Nation Palms bridge? Thanks
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 17, 2013 11:38:40 GMT -8
Gokham: Do you have a print of the Nation Palms bridge? Thanks The January Phase 2 community-meeting presentations (PDF files for Los Angeles and Santa Monica) have the station renderings.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 18, 2013 12:32:43 GMT -8
I noticed that they were splicing and feeding into vertical conduits that go underground some of the communication cables near Venice/Robertson. Once the seven telecom companies really get to it, it shouldn't take too long to relocate these lines underground. Power lines are already gone.
The big construction on Venice Blvd is about to start. They will build too large foundations for the columns. The first stage is K-railing the area.
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Post by darrell on Mar 18, 2013 14:34:25 GMT -8
The big construction on Venice Blvd is about to start. They will build too large foundations for the columns. The first stage is K-railing the area. Wonder if the Venice column footings will be the Phase 1 style (single big deep CIDH below ground) or Phase 2 style (multiple smaller CIDH with a cap)?
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 18, 2013 17:17:07 GMT -8
The big construction on Venice Blvd is about to start. They will build too large foundations for the columns. The first stage is K-railing the area. Wonder if the Venice column footings will be the Phase 1 style (single big deep CIDH below ground) or Phase 2 style (multiple smaller CIDH with a cap)? As expolinefan verified, Phase-1-style single large column because there is no space, especially during construction, for such large slab foundations in the middle of streets.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 18, 2013 17:33:33 GMT -8
Since administrators don't approve new registrations, I guess I'll ask my questions here. (found this place after googling around trying to figure out why the work at venice blvd seemed so achingly slow). Will the Venice Bridge for expo phase two have a column in the middle of the road? If so, will that column take away one of the two left turn lanes (onto Robertson) from east bound venice? Is the cement structure on the north side of Venice an abutment rather than a column? Is the bridge going to slope down to grade right after the cement structure with retained fill? Why hasn't any work begun on the additional bridge column on the south side of venice? Will this column require a street realignment? Every time I've ridden expo I've never seen anyone get on the train at Farmdale or leave the train at farmdale. I thought I remembered the LATimes article on Expo phase one having just major intersection stops, with an option (exercised) for an additional redundant stop at USC, rather than just at Vermont/Expo, The first time I rode Expo I was baffled there was a stop in the middle of no where so to speak, just a couple blocks from other major intersections. Why on earth did they add a stop in the middle of nowhere and is there anyway to get rid of a station that nobody is using? The structure on the west is an abutment. There will be a column in the median of Venice as well as another one near the southwest corner. It will slope down just past the abutment on a retained-fill embankment. I don't know the exact lane configuration after construction but my guess is that they will somehow make up for the lane taken by the column (by removing parking perhaps). Work on the columns will begin in a few weeks, starting with K rails being placed shortly. Yes, Farmdale has by far the lowest ridership while Vermont, Western, and Crenshaw have the highest ridership. This said, the ridership is still significant, perhaps about 500 boardings a day. I normally see about half a dozen people during busier hours. It cannot be removed because it's part of a CPUC-mediated settlement between Expo and LAUSD. You can read about it under the Dorsey High tread. Last but not least, Expo Park / USC, although not as high as the the top three (Vermont, Western, and Crenshaw), has really good ridership and turned out to be a crucial, rather than an optional, station.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 19, 2013 10:48:18 GMT -8
View from Phase 1 into Phase 2. You can see the reversed-T-shape abutment in the background: Meanwhile, the fiber lines are being pulled in underground. This work should be completed in about a month or so. It won't affect the bridge-superstructure construction, as that won't start until a few more months. So far, the only thing that's on hold is the Motor Avenue bridge, due to Caltrans-land-acquisition complications.
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Post by bzcat on Mar 19, 2013 11:56:24 GMT -8
The temporary bridge support appeared in the middle of Sepulveda over night. The bridge is coming up fast!
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 19, 2013 11:56:49 GMT -8
Here is the zoomed view. You can see how the bridge superstructure will be aligned. There will be a column in the median of Venice as well as another one in or near the grass on the left side:
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Post by darrell on Mar 19, 2013 14:48:13 GMT -8
Dwight just emailed this map of the columns (bents) of the aerial from Sawtelle to Pico. In particular it clarifies that two straddle bents will be used for the Pico crossing (like freeway ramps, where there a single support column would be in a roadway). He reports that the footings of these remaining 5 columns will be large single CIDHs like the Phase 1 columns. Added notes: bents 7 & 8 are approximate locations, and this is not official Expo or Skanska art.
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Post by rubbertoe on Mar 19, 2013 14:51:43 GMT -8
An overhead picture is worth 1,000 words. Not clear that the grassy area would be under th emain bridge structure...
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 19, 2013 15:24:11 GMT -8
An overhead picture is worth 1,000 words. Not clear that the grassy area would be under th emain bridge structure... Note that the guideway is pushed almost all the way to the very south edge of the right-of-way. I don't know the exact location of the column and shape of the bent (aka pier), but I know that there will be one column somewhere near that southwest corner and another one in the median of Venice. Perhaps it will be a single two-column bent (instead of two bents) similar to in expolinefan's picture Darrell posted above for Pico.
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Post by darrell on Mar 19, 2013 15:46:28 GMT -8
An overhead picture is worth 1,000 words. Not clear that the grassy area would be under th emain bridge structure... Hey, the big blue cranes during the Culver City construction!
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Post by darrell on Mar 20, 2013 15:43:32 GMT -8
Dwight reports that the big concrete pour for the National bridge is scheduled for March 27th.
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Post by rajacobs on Mar 20, 2013 23:10:42 GMT -8
I would have been great to have had my camera tonight at Sepulveda and Exposition, because the false-work is going up over Sepulveda! I passed under the first I-beams about 11:30PM.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 20, 2013 23:19:22 GMT -8
Dwight reports that the big concrete pour for the National bridge is scheduled for March 27th. Skanska/Rados seems to remove the forms two to seven days after concrete is poured. We should therefore see the completed bridge superstructure in about two weeks. Note that the superstructure is sitting a few feet higher than the abutments. Once they build it, they will lower it onto the abutments. I wonder if they will use a large crane (like they did at Motor Avenue when they lifted up the old steel superstructure there) or they have another technique to lower this massive superstructure.
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Post by roadtrainer on Mar 21, 2013 3:42:53 GMT -8
Dwight reports that the big concrete Note that the superstructure is sitting a few feet higher than the abutments. Once they build it, they will lower it onto the abutments. I wonder if they will use a large crane (like they did at Motor Avenue when they lifted up the old steel superstructure there) or they have another technique to lower this massive superstructure. Gokham: I dont think they lower the bridge at all If it's higher then it will be higher, but it might be an illusion and once ithe false work is removed it will be the same as the existing P.E. bridge. and here is a question for you -Is the stationat a level or is it sitting at a small downward grade or a steep grade like the USC station?.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 21, 2013 11:35:49 GMT -8
Dwight reports that the big concrete Note that the superstructure is sitting a few feet higher than the abutments. Once they build it, they will lower it onto the abutments. I wonder if they will use a large crane (like they did at Motor Avenue when they lifted up the old steel superstructure there) or they have another technique to lower this massive superstructure. Gokham: I dont think they lower the bridge at all If it's higher then it will be higher, but it might be an illusion and once ithe false work is removed it will be the same as the existing P.E. bridge. and here is a question for you -Is the stationat a level or is it sitting at a small downward grade or a steep grade like the UC station?. UC doesn't have a station but USC does. I think the platform will be horizontal (0% grade). The bridge span between the column and east abutment needs to come down -- there is no other way! See this photo below taken today. Look at the bottom of the wood forms west of the column and east of the column. The wood forms, which correspond to the suffit (bottom surface) of the bridge, need to be perfectly aligned. Currently there is a 5 ft height difference between them, which means that the long span will have to come down 5 ft after they remove the forms. That is, they need to lower the long span by 5 ft so that it can look like the following afterwards! They also appeared to be pulling some cables through the conduits. expolinefan asked about them and he was told that they are for mechanical-tension cables. I think there are four of them on each side vertically stacked against each other, with the top ones being more curved. The top, more curved ones will have less tension than the bottom, more horizontal ones, which will have more tension. (If you pull a clothes string more and more, it becomes more horizontal.) This will compress the bottom part of the bridge more, which will curve the bridge span upward in the middle. This will increase the strength of the concrete under load, as the load will press the bridge span downward. Concrete doesn't like being stretched, and compressing it increases it strength greatly. More general tech info about it here. Meanwhile, they are pulling fiber cables along Venice:
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Post by jdrcrasher on Mar 21, 2013 13:26:16 GMT -8
UC doesn't have a station but USC does. But they'll end up with the better one in the end (hint:405 corridor). Haha
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 22, 2013 9:45:10 GMT -8
This appears to be the tensioning cable for the Palms bridge. There are about four or five tensioning conduits on either side, all catenary-shaped (shape of a freely hanging wire), but the top ones having a larger angle. Therefore the tension will increase from the top cable to the bottom cable, compressing the bottom of the bridge more than the top of the bridge. This will curl the bridge slightly upward, which will result in increase strength under load, as the concrete likes being pushed against with a load but it doesn't like to be pulled and stretched under load (that would curl the bridge downward and crack it at the bottom due to stretching of the concrete).
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Post by darrell on Mar 22, 2013 11:58:02 GMT -8
Love the photo, but did you notice the strange double-images of some of the car wheels?! Is it an HDR double-image?
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 22, 2013 12:05:57 GMT -8
Love the photo, but did you notice the strange double-images of some of the car wheels?! Is it an HDR double-image? Thanks. No, I didn't Photoshop it, and yes, it's HDR. I didn't know HDR did that to moving objects until I shot this picture.
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