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Post by bzcat on Jun 25, 2013 10:33:08 GMT -8
I was surprised that there is no corrosion whatsoever on the year-1963 -- 50-year-old -- rebar. Yes, very impressive. Our dry climate probably was a big help but you can tell those rebars are made of quality materials, not cheap Chinese steel that are in the rebars now days.
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Post by Gokhan on Jun 25, 2013 11:46:15 GMT -8
More falsework for the Venice Bridge -- slow but steady progress:
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Jun 25, 2013 11:56:50 GMT -8
It's great to see the Venice blvd bridge moving forward, but I'm also curious to know the timing of the Pico/Gateway superstructure. That bridge looks like it may be as big as Venice blvd, or bigger. Does anybody know the timing of falsework on that bridge, or potential delays?
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Post by joshuanickel on Jun 25, 2013 12:51:05 GMT -8
It's great to see the Venice blvd bridge moving forward, but I'm also curious to know the timing of the Pico/Gateway superstructure. That bridge looks like it may be as big as Venice blvd, or bigger. Does anybody know the timing of falsework on that bridge, or potential delays? The Pico/Gateway bridge is being built similar to how the Olympic/Cloverfield is being built. The Cloverfield section proceeded with falsework and formwork while the part across Olympic was still building the columns. If you look at the progress photos, you will see the bridge is build in two sections. The part over Cloverfield already had the concrete deck poured while the part over Olympic only has the soffits/stems poured. When looking at the Pico/Gateway bridge, you see similar work. The Part going from Sawtelle behind the buildings already has falsework and alot of the formwork already installed, while at the same time they are continuing to finish the remaining five columns over Pico. I wouldn't be surprised if you see a concrete pour happen on the first section before the rest of the falsework goes up.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Jun 25, 2013 16:29:19 GMT -8
Note from Dwight and his camera. Man, this guy is busting his hump. Pictures almost every week. We should start a gas fund. www.ipernity.com/doc/expo-line NEW PHOTOS ARE UP NEXT UP DATE MONDAY JULY 1st WILL BE OUT OF TOWN WEND NIGHT TILL SUNDAY DWIGHT
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Post by darrell on Jun 25, 2013 21:24:21 GMT -8
It's great to see the Venice blvd bridge moving forward, but I'm also curious to know the timing of the Pico/Gateway superstructure. That bridge looks like it may be as big as Venice blvd, or bigger. Does anybody know the timing of falsework on that bridge, or potential delays? The Pico/Gateway bridge is being built similar to how the Olympic/Cloverfield is being built. The Cloverfield section proceeded with falsework and formwork while the part across Olympic was still building the columns. If you look at the progress photos, you will see the bridge is build in two sections. The part over Cloverfield already had the concrete deck poured while the part over Olympic only has the soffits/stems poured. When looking at the Pico/Gateway bridge, you see similar work. The Part going from Sawtelle behind the buildings already has falsework and alot of the formwork already installed, while at the same time they are continuing to finish the remaining five columns over Pico. I wouldn't be surprised if you see a concrete pour happen on the first section before the rest of the falsework goes up. But the Pico/Gateway bridge is structurally different. Venice is two separate single-track spans, each supported on its own columns. Pico is one double-track span, supported in particular on two straddle bents, the western one spanning from the median (large column on the left in the 5/30 photo below) to the north side, the eastern one spanning from the median to the south side (the two columns farther away).
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Post by Gokhan on Jun 27, 2013 11:27:34 GMT -8
Falsework over the eastbound lanes of Venice Blvd for the westbound track: Progress on the Palms Station outer retaining wall. I still can't figure out why they are wasting so much concrete testing and/or failing, as it's still going on. (See the previous pictures on this subject for what I mean.) A lot of DWP work is taking place in Palms. Connecting the Clarington Ave / National Blvd TPSS to the DWP power lines: Also, a lot of right-of-way grading and excavation is taking place in Palms for the preparation of the track bed. Dogs and cats ride the Expo Line, too. I wonder if they are included in the ridership counts:
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Post by bzcat on Jun 28, 2013 11:20:55 GMT -8
Are non-service animals allowed on trains? I thought they had to be inside a carrier? I know the bus drivers will not let people on with a leashed dog. It has to be in a carrier.
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Post by Gokhan on Jun 28, 2013 12:01:23 GMT -8
Are non-service animals allowed on trains? I thought they had to be inside a carrier? I know the bus drivers will not let people on with a leashed dog. It has to be in a carrier. This particular one is a very well-behaved small dog ( video), not a nuisance to anyone. I guess the rules can be bent to some extent, also by some bus drivers. You certainly don't want an aggressive dog on a train or bus, even if it's a service dog. I once saw a girl carrying a little ginger kitten at the La Brea Station and walking with her friend -- that was really cute (no pictures). They had probably just adopted it from SPCA Los Angeles just east of La Brea and Jefferson, only about a block from the station.
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Post by Gokhan on Jun 28, 2013 12:07:04 GMT -8
Venice Blvd falsework is now over the eastbound lanes for both tracks. They will now build it and move to the westbound lanes in a few weeks. The falsework should be done in about a month.
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Post by Gokhan on Jun 28, 2013 18:43:12 GMT -8
More little ginger dogs on the Expo Line today. This one was fitting in a bag:
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 1, 2013 11:52:39 GMT -8
Venice Blvd Bridge formwork is progressing steadily. Perhaps they will start the falsework over the westbound lanes ahead of schedule. They did the suffit over the westbound tracks last night and they should do it over the eastbound tracks tonight:
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Post by darrell on Jul 2, 2013 8:55:21 GMT -8
Dwight sent the following this morning:
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Post by metrocenter on Jul 2, 2013 9:26:55 GMT -8
Has construction begun on the Expo maintenance facility? The last I saw, construction was expected to begin in spring 2013.
Edit: I see contractor bids were due back to Expo by March 22. But I can't find anything else on this.
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Post by metrocenter on Jul 2, 2013 9:38:04 GMT -8
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 2, 2013 11:05:19 GMT -8
I didn't get to record the board meetings recently but perhaps next week. expolinefan's photos are showing that not much work happened around the approaches to the Palms Overhead box structure under the freeway other than initial land grading. However, good progress is happening at the Motor Bridge (no photos). They have installed the CIDH piles for the abutment widening and the guard walls over the old abutments are finished. Good progress at the Venice Bridge as of last night. They will work one more night (Tuesday) before Sunday. As you see in the photo, there is also some daytime work taking place. If everything goes well, it could be finished as early as September:
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Post by joshuanickel on Jul 2, 2013 12:51:04 GMT -8
Has construction begun on the Expo maintenance facility? The last I saw, construction was expected to begin in spring 2013. Edit: I see contractor bids were due back to Expo by March 22. But I can't find anything else on this. The contractor is holding a pre construction community meeting to answer any questions on July 10th and I assume construction will start shortly after that. Last week I went by the site and they were installing a construction fence around the site perimeter. July 10, 2013 Pre-Construction Community Meeting for the Maintenance Facility
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 2, 2013 13:04:52 GMT -8
It needs to be finished by the end of 2014. So, they've got a year and a half to build it. It doesn't need to be finished for Phase 2 to be opened. Phase 2 can be opened from the Long Beach facility with the old trains -- only three more trains (nine more cars) are needed. However, it needs to be finished for the new cars to be stored. Otherwise, the Foothill people will grab the new trains before Expo.
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Post by metrocenter on Jul 2, 2013 14:06:22 GMT -8
However, it needs to be finished for the new cars to be stored. Otherwise, the Foothill people will grab the new trains before Expo. The race is definitely on, will be interesting to see which project completes first. Both are on track for openings in 2015/2016.
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Post by roadtrainer on Jul 2, 2013 17:22:20 GMT -8
Well the Gold line people will grab the trains but they are Metro people so don't sweat it!
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Post by roadtrainer on Jul 4, 2013 20:49:22 GMT -8
Here's the latest from Dwight: Photos from Safety Drill at Culver City Sunday 06-30-2013
Also Project Photos from this week are on line
Check out the Centennial Bridge Area Work and The Cloverfield-Olympic Work
Work on the 26th Street Station There are Some Pictures from Between Motor Ave and the I-10 Tunnel
and Pictures from the Top of the Several of the Bridges
And Much More at www.ipernity.com/doc/expo-line
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 10, 2013 22:39:17 GMT -8
Venice Bridge work seems a little behind schedule. They are supposed to finish the falsework next Friday but they still haven't started the westbound lanes.
expolinefan was invited to the rail yard tomorrow to be shown something interesting. Is there any chance that it could be the first Kinki Sharyo car?
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Post by joshuanickel on Jul 11, 2013 10:45:07 GMT -8
Expo held a pre construction meeting for the maintenance facility last night. Here is the presentation: Pre-Construction Community Meeting for the Maintenance Facility - PresentationThe schedule seems very ambitious to me. The schedule shows completion in Fall of 2014 which is just over a year. One thing to note is that Kiewit is also the contractor on the foothill gold line maintenance facility so they have some practice building to metro standards.
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 11, 2013 11:30:15 GMT -8
Expo held a pre construction meeting for the maintenance facility last night. Here is the presentation: Pre-Construction Community Meeting for the Maintenance Facility - PresentationThe schedule seems very ambitious to me. The schedule shows completion in Fall of 2014 which is just over a year. One thing to note is that Kiewit is also the contractor on the foothill gold line maintenance facility so they have some practice building to metro standards. They can then open the line in March 2015. However, I am worried that the Expo Phase 2 rail yard is too small. They have storage for only 15 trains, whereas there would be 18 running trains plus spare trains on Expo. That's for 6-minute headways. For 5-minute headways, it would be 22 running trains plus spare trains. They decided to build the facility too small after neighborhood opposition and I don't know how it will work out with lack of storage tracks.
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 11, 2013 11:34:58 GMT -8
Venice Bridge work seems a little behind schedule. They are supposed to finish the falsework next Friday but they still haven't started the westbound lanes. They are doing sidewalk work on the westbound lanes and hopefully they can erect the falsework and initial formwork in a week as planned.
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Post by joshuanickel on Jul 11, 2013 12:33:27 GMT -8
Expo held a pre construction meeting for the maintenance facility last night. Here is the presentation: Pre-Construction Community Meeting for the Maintenance Facility - PresentationThe schedule seems very ambitious to me. The schedule shows completion in Fall of 2014 which is just over a year. One thing to note is that Kiewit is also the contractor on the foothill gold line maintenance facility so they have some practice building to metro standards. They can then open the line in March 2015. However, I am worried that the Expo Phase 2 rail yard is too small. They have storage for only 15 trains, whereas there would be 18 running trains plus spare trains on Expo. That's for 6-minute headways. For 5-minute headways, it would be 22 running trains plus spare trains. They decided to build the facility too small after neighborhood opposition and I don't know how it will work out with lack of storage tracks. Isn't it still in the plans to build the layover facility at Washington. That was suppose to hold 12 cars which would be 4 trains. Plus you have the blue line trains which will most likely interchange between blue/expo line. Once the regional connector comes about you will also have the downtown gold line yard which metro really considers the yard for the eastside line. I don't see 5 minute headways happening until the regional connector is built.
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Post by JerardWright on Jul 11, 2013 13:19:45 GMT -8
Expo held a pre construction meeting for the maintenance facility last night. Here is the presentation: Pre-Construction Community Meeting for the Maintenance Facility - PresentationThe schedule seems very ambitious to me. The schedule shows completion in Fall of 2014 which is just over a year. One thing to note is that Kiewit is also the contractor on the foothill gold line maintenance facility so they have some practice building to metro standards. They can then open the line in March 2015. However, I am worried that the Expo Phase 2 rail yard is too small. They have storage for only 15 trains, whereas there would be 18 running trains plus spare trains on Expo. That's for 6-minute headways. For 5-minute headways, it would be 22 running trains plus spare trains. They decided to build the facility too small after neighborhood opposition and I don't know how it will work out with lack of storage tracks. True, however we will have the Blue Line yard in Carson will have additional capacity as it is currently where the trains are stored. Within the Expo yard, there's room for more trains; such as the main shop building with 3 tracks, that's room for an additional 9 LRV's to be checked and operated on. There is a track over the Level 2 Ops, that can store and additional 6-9 LRV's with room to add 3-4 more adjacent to that just south of the car wash facility depending on the track curvature with a 450' long MOW storage track which holds an additional 5 LRV's (69 total) and continuing west on that could work as an extra storage track for possibly ready for the spares with room to hold 9 more LRV's, so that is 69-78 trains that can be stored in that yard, I'm using 69 as the number because that track between the operating ROW and train washing might be used for train movements and needing the clearance to move them around the yard between shops stations. There's the Santa Monica terminal which is a 3 track facility (9 LRV's) and per the EIR drawings a 3 LRV long storage track just west of the Palms station that could make up the additional 12 LRV's that the Washington facility would have held during off-peak times, However I am in agreement that the Regional Connector would add a level of additional level of storage infrastructure that would make easier to utilize the current Gold Line yard by the Cornfield park as just as a storage yard that could 50 LRV's as it does now
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 11, 2013 14:15:06 GMT -8
expolinefan was invited to the rail yard tomorrow to be shown something interesting. Is there any chance that it could be the first Kinki Sharyo car? It turned out to be a new paint job, which he wasn't allowed to photograph. He reports that the Kinki Sharyo's will be delivered to the Green Line yard first and then transferred to the Blue Line yard via the rail connector between the Green and Blue Lines.
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Post by darrell on Jul 12, 2013 18:54:31 GMT -8
Before they get too stale, here are some updates from West L.A.-Santa Monica last Monday (7/8/13): Here's a Bundy view of its falsework and long shot looking east. Centinela is coming along well, with precast concrete beams in place and MSE walls largely done. Pico has the most yet to do - only a couple of columns are cast. And a curb is cast for the future south side of Colorado west of 17th, where the street will divide around the station. Memorial Park and the former Fisher Lumber are in the background.
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Post by Gokhan on Jul 14, 2013 1:42:52 GMT -8
Thanks Darrell. Going further east, here is the current status of the Northvale Road trench. Currently they are digging for installing a fire standpipe and they are not yet to the point of track installation. Looking northwest: Looking southeast: Close-up of the Palms Overhead northwest portal and a trespasser: Interesting work taking place at Motor Avenue. West abutment is being widened. They have now drilled rebars into the face of it: Notice the relative positions of the freeway abutment in the background and enlarged railroad abutment (the latter being the wood forms in front of the old abutment). I find it very odd that they are substantially narrowing the sidewalk and street, especially considering that there will also be a new Class 2 bike path there. I wonder if it would be simpler to completely tear down the old abutment and build a brand-new one instead of going through this complicated and sidewalk-encroaching rebuild: You can see that the enlarged section is pretty wide. Also notice the cast-in-drilled-hole (CIDH) piles in the ground: This is the east abutment, marked for face rebars:
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