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Post by Gokhan on May 6, 2013 12:44:12 GMT -8
So mighty curious to see how a train fits under that freeway and still leaves clearance for the traffic on Sawtelle. I'm sure it makes sense on paper but when I'm at that location my eyes can't reconcile it all! The plan was/is to excavate Sawtelle below grade to allow for adequate bridge clearance. I think the plans to excavate Sawtelle and Pico to a lower grade have been scrapped and the existing grade will remain. I am guessing the bridge will have a 15-ft clearance from Sawtelle. However, regarding the clearance from the freeway, we won't be 100% sure until they start the train testing whether the trains will fit under the freeway.
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Post by bzcat on May 7, 2013 8:54:23 GMT -8
Well, this eliminates the possibility that Metro could use double deck trains in the future... so much for planning ahead... [yes, I'm being sarcastic]
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Post by RMoses on May 7, 2013 9:57:05 GMT -8
I took pictures of the Pico/Sawtelle Boulevards area on Sunday. Who's up for drinks tomorrow, new meeting spot?
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on May 8, 2013 7:14:42 GMT -8
Party coming to 26th/Bergamot Station construction site on July 21st ( From curbed posting (link)): SANTA MONICA: Bettina Hubby, the Silver Lake artist who threw a party at the never-ending LADWP construction site on Rowena Avenue, has taken her good attitude to Santa Monica, where she's dressing up the Expo Line station construction at Olympic and Twenty-Sixth Street (with the help of the nearby Santa Monica Museum of Art; this is also right near the Bergamot Station Art Center).
Dig the Dig includes orange safety cones modified to hold weekly flower deliveries, "large-scale, manipulated photographs of the Olympic/26th Street site on large banners along the construction fencing," and, on July 21, "a candle-lit and disco-ball activated Dig the Dig Dinner, which will bring together construction workers, local business owners, and neighbors for a festive meal, music, and performances by local artists." Herb Alpert also put up some art in the area recently. [Curbed Inbox]
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Post by Gokhan on May 8, 2013 10:43:34 GMT -8
They have now finished post-tensioning of the Palms Station bridge. You can see the end stops placed over the strands of cables in this picture: You can see in the above picture that there are more strands in the lower holes. They tension the lower part of the bridge more so that the lower part is arched upward in the middle. This way when there is load on the bridge, it will press the arch down but it will never sag to the point of concrete actually being stretched, as concrete is very weak when it's stretched and it breaks. This shiny machine that looks like a machine gun with many barrels was used to thread it over the strands and put the end stops: You can see more of the shiny multibarrel end-stop machine in this short video. Cutting the extra lengths today with a saw: The bridge span could be lowered onto its abutment and column as early as this Friday but they will start by Monday for sure.
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Post by darrell on May 8, 2013 13:28:47 GMT -8
So mighty curious to see how a train fits under that freeway and still leaves clearance for the traffic on Sawtelle. I'm sure it makes sense on paper but when I'm at that location my eyes can't reconcile it all! The plan was/is to excavate Sawtelle below grade to allow for adequate bridge clearance. I think the plans to excavate Sawtelle and Pico to a lower grade have been scrapped and the existing grade will remain. I am guessing the bridge will have a 15-ft clearance from Sawtelle. However, regarding the clearance from the freeway, we won't be 100% sure until they start the train testing whether the trains will fit under the freeway. I presume this design for the Sawtelle bridge (like National and Motor) allows less distance from the rails to the street. There's a wonderful story from c. 2000 that one of the engineers doing the environmental study bought lengths of plastic pipe at Anawalt Lumber to measure how tall the underside of the 405 freeway bridge is, and concluded this under-and-over route would fit.
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Post by RMoses on May 8, 2013 14:26:31 GMT -8
I think the plans to excavate Sawtelle and Pico to a lower grade have been scrapped and the existing grade will remain. I am guessing the bridge will have a 15-ft clearance from Sawtelle. However, regarding the clearance from the freeway, we won't be 100% sure until they start the train testing whether the trains will fit under the freeway. I presume this design for the Sawtelle bridge (like National and Motor) allows less distance from the rails to the street. There's a wonderful story from c. 2000 that one of the engineers doing the environmental study bought lengths of plastic pipe at Anawalt Lumber to measure how tall the underside of the 405 freeway bridge is, and concluded this under-and-over route would fit. Hard to tell from an illustration, but they need to maintain 15.5 feet center minimum at Sawtelle, the picture does not indicate that type of clearance, Sepulvada is set for 16 ft.
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on May 8, 2013 15:00:02 GMT -8
The scale in the illustration feels wonky --the white truck in the background isn't really helping matters. The clearance from the street to the underside of the bridge appears way too low. What's more, the clearance from the tracks to the underside of the freeway looks overly generous and it doesn't at all give a sense how the electric will fit in overhead as well.
That said, I have the same reaction when I pass by the site. With every piece that's added it gets harder and harder for me to discern how it's ever going to fit. Usually with construction it's just the opposite. A picture slowly comes into focus but not this time!
Doesn't the false work sit lower than the eventual structure? It will be interesting to see what kind of clearance that will provide over Sawtelle.
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Post by Gokhan on May 8, 2013 15:11:12 GMT -8
Doesn't the false work sit lower than the eventual structure? It will be interesting to see what kind of clearance that will provide over Sawtelle. Same deal as with the Palms/National/Exposition and Motor bridges -- the span will be cast about 5 ft higher to allow enough clearance below the falsework and will then be lowered with jacks onto the abutment(s)/column when it's finished and the falsework is removed. Normally they leave about 16 - 18 ft clearance for the Expo bridges but the permanent clearance for these three bridges should only be about 15 ft.
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Post by Gokhan on May 8, 2013 22:14:40 GMT -8
A lot of orange cones and lane closures on Motor Ave between National Blvd and Manning Ave tonight. It looks like the bridge construction is about to begin. The first step would be to place the K rails. PS: I had always wondered why they called them K rails. It turns out there is some Caltrans spec under letter K describing how they should be made.
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Post by Gokhan on May 8, 2013 22:18:38 GMT -8
Tomorrow (Thursday, May 9, 2013) at 6:30 pm in Vista Del Mar on Motor Ave (immediately north of the freeway on the east) will take place the Cheviot Hills Homeowners' Association General Meeting including elections. rajacobs, expolinefan, et al.: Perhaps some of you guys can attend and take notes about the current feeling/energy toward Expo Line in Cheviot Hills.
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Post by rajacobs on May 9, 2013 1:58:53 GMT -8
...I might get ridden out of the meeting on a rail!
...More seriously, does anyone know how the CA Supreme Court received the arguments which were presented to the court on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 9:00 a.m., in San Francisco.
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Post by Gokhan on May 9, 2013 9:51:55 GMT -8
...I might get ridden out of the meeting on a rail!I used to attend the CHHOA meetings in the past. I only got indirectly picked on in the last one -- they said something like TTC people were here tonight. You're likely to face a lot more negative energy in the NFSR meetings though. I went to one and they saw that I was with Karen Leonard (Light-Rail for Cheviot Cochair) and they wouldn't let me in because I was with her outside. (Karen didn't want to go in herself.) Then the President of NFSR said I was welcome and they let me in. However, when the President saw me shooting a video of the meeting from the back of the room with my phone, she threatened to have me escorted out. I was then threatened to have my phone confiscated. Ironically, later they posted a video of the meeting themselves. So, I dare you to attend an NFSR meeting.
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Post by Gokhan on May 9, 2013 9:59:19 GMT -8
...More seriously, does anyone know how the CA Supreme Court received the arguments which were presented to the court on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 9:00 a.m., in San Francisco. The best way to find out is to attend the CHHOA meeting tonight. CHHOA Light-Rail Chair would be in San Francisco the other day and she will give a detailed report tonight.
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Post by Gokhan on May 10, 2013 11:39:32 GMT -8
Motor Ave K rails are now in place, guarding the work area around the abutments. They are now ready to start the work there.
There are some equipment on the Palms/National/Exposition Bridge, which could be for lowering the bridge. The bridge lowering should take place by Monday or so.
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Post by culvercitylocke on May 10, 2013 12:59:52 GMT -8
They started installing falsework on the East Side of the Venice Blvd bridge, next to the emergency stairwell.
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Post by Gokhan on May 13, 2013 13:24:20 GMT -8
Bafour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc, has now fully cleared and transferred the segment east of Bagley Avenue to Skanska - Rados Joint Venture. Skanska - Rados is already working in the area, marking the right-of-way for grading and MSE walls. They will lower the Palms/National/Exposition Bridge onto the abutment and column tonight. expolinefan will shoot a video of the process. You can see the lowering equipment as well as new wood added between the column and bridge. It will be interesting to see how they will do that. Perhaps the new lumbers they stuck between the abutment/column and bridge will support the bridge after the falsework is removed and then they will raise the bridge with jacks and pull off the lumber between the bridge and column/abutment and then lower the bridge:
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Post by Gokhan on May 14, 2013 11:19:36 GMT -8
They closed Palms - National at Exposition last night. However, it appears that very little falsework has been removed so far. It will apparently take the whole week. Meanwhile, not construction related but I got to shoot a nice video of a group of California wild green parrots munching on the red flowers of a tree at Canfield Ave / Exposition Blvd (a block east of Bagley Ave). Here is the short video (link [have fixed it now]) and watch it in full screen.
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Post by culvercitylocke on May 14, 2013 11:22:25 GMT -8
They've finally put the concrete forms on bent 17, four or five weeks after they placed the rebar cage.
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Post by Gokhan on May 14, 2013 14:37:08 GMT -8
expolinefan is reporting that the Palms/National/Exposition Bridge will be lowered tonight for real. PS: Fixed the link for the parrot video above.
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Post by RMoses on May 14, 2013 20:32:41 GMT -8
expolinefan is reporting that the Palms/National/Exposition Bridge will be lowered tonight for real. PS: Fixed the link for the parrot video above. Look forward to the video. On a related note, Metro now states Nov. 2016 for Phase 2 opening, do we have a 2017? thesource.metro.net/
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Post by Gokhan on May 14, 2013 21:16:02 GMT -8
On a related note, Metro now states Nov. 2016 for Phase 2 opening, do we have a 2017? No... That's just a random comment by Steve Hymon. If everything goes well, it should open in 2015.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on May 14, 2013 21:27:25 GMT -8
On a related note, Metro now states Nov. 2016 for Phase 2 opening, do we have a 2017? No... That's just a random comment by Steve Hymon. If everything goes well, it should open in 2015. 2016 seems more reasonable at this point. It's better to underpromise and overdeliver. Remember how many times we heard 2010 when building Phase I? People were extremely upset when it opened in 2012. I'm telling everybody 2016 from now on. For Foothill Gold Line, I can see 2015 as being possible.
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Post by Gokhan on May 14, 2013 21:29:38 GMT -8
No... That's just a random comment by Steve Hymon. If everything goes well, it should open in 2015. 2016 seems more reasonable at this point. It's better to underpromise and overdeliver. Remember how many times we heard 2010 when building Phase I? People were extremely upset when it opened in 2012. I'm telling everybody 2016 from now on. For Foothill Gold Line, I can see 2015 as being possible. Well, it's almost time to start a new thread and start playing the game.
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Post by transitfan on May 15, 2013 8:28:29 GMT -8
Thing is, will there be enough Kinki-Sharyo LRVs on hand in 2015?
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Post by darrell on May 15, 2013 8:37:48 GMT -8
I just commented on The Source: Expo Phase 2 opening in November 2016 seems awfully far out considering that the Expo Authority’s presentations this spring include this timeline: 2013 — Bridge and Station Construction, Utility Relocation, Sound walls and Track Installation 2014 — Roadway Improvements, Station Finishes, Electrical System, Train Control, and Landscaping Installation 2015 — Systems Testing and Pre-Revenue Operations Given the pace of construction so far they’ll complete the 2013 construction on schedule. My biggest question is, when will new LRVs needed for Expo Phase 2 and the Gold Line to Azusa arrive from Kinki-Sharyo?
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Post by RMoses on May 15, 2013 9:14:26 GMT -8
I just commented on The Source: Expo Phase 2 opening in November 2016 seems awfully far out considering that the Expo Authority’s presentations this spring include this timeline: 2013 — Bridge and Station Construction, Utility Relocation, Sound walls and Track Installation 2014 — Roadway Improvements, Station Finishes, Electrical System, Train Control, and Landscaping Installation 2015 — Systems Testing and Pre-Revenue Operations Given the pace of construction so far they’ll complete the 2013 construction on schedule. My biggest question is, when will new LRVs needed for Expo Phase 2 and the Gold Line to Azusa arrive from Kinki-Sharyo? It looks far out, until you look more closely: www.buildexpo.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Construction-Timeline-2013-.jpg"2013 — Bridge and Station Construction, Utility Relocation, Sound walls and Track Installation" Do you think they can actually complete all bridge construction this year? I don't think they have a chance. And for some reasons beyond their control - not a single track has been placed yet.
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Post by darrell on May 15, 2013 9:56:41 GMT -8
Do you think they can actually complete all bridge construction this year? I don't think they have a chance. And for some reasons beyond their control - not a single track has been placed yet. Yes, I do. Phase 2 bridges construction began last September at Centinela, and all are well under way. Phase 1 track construction began east of Crenshaw in November 2009 and was complete around 7 months later, including the embedded track on Flower and rails on the La Brea and La Cienega bridges (dates based on construction photos). So Phase 1 bridges and track were complete in mid-2010 and it opened less than two years later - including the delays around the Flower / Washington junction. If Phase 2 is at the same stage of completion at the end of 2013 then a late 2015 opening seems reasonable.
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Post by darrell on May 15, 2013 10:11:24 GMT -8
My biggest question is, when will new LRVs needed for Expo Phase 2 and the Gold Line to Azusa arrive from Kinki-Sharyo? Steve Hymon just replied to my question on The Source: Here’s what we reported on The Source last year: Under the new contract with Kinkisharyo, 28 of the new rail cars are scheduled to be delivered by 2015 and a total of 62 by May 2016. If the four options are fulfilled, the delivery of the 235 total rail cars would be complete by Feb. 2020.
I’m not sure if anything has changed. Metro staff gives construction updates and opening forecasts at the Board meetings each month; those reports are online. That seems enough new LRVs to open Phase 2, considering that they can't run Expo trains on less than 12-minute headways until the Regional Connector is finished.
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Post by RMoses on May 15, 2013 10:54:46 GMT -8
Expo Line Takes Shape in Santa Monica"When the Expo Line opens to the public sometime in 2016, it will mark the first time a train rolls into to the beachside city since the Pacific Electric “Red Car” Line discontinued service more than fifty years ago."
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