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Post by darrell on Sept 8, 2013 16:22:22 GMT -8
... It may be the same materials, but it's new engineering. Very true. And unlike most of the rest of the U.S., we continue to rely mostly on cast-in-place reinforced concrete as it has evolved to perform well in earthquakes, while elsewhere you see much more precast (both girders and segmental) and steel.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 10, 2013 12:11:41 GMT -8
They are getting ready for railroad-track installation all along the line and it may start in a week or two. By the end of the year, we should have the rail installed in most sections of the line.
However, Colorado Ave SCE underground power lines is a looming problem, which may delay the opening of the line for many months.
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Post by culvercitylocke on Sept 10, 2013 12:19:09 GMT -8
hasn't SCE been relocating utilities for months and months, even back into 2012? What takes so long?
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 12, 2013 10:10:59 GMT -8
hasn't SCE been relocating utilities for months and months, even back into 2012? What takes so long? Third parties are hard to motivate. Expo is trying to mitigate the problem by adjusting its and SCE's schedules.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 12, 2013 10:27:32 GMT -8
Fire in Palms yesterday near Bagley Ave and Venice Blvd. Perhaps someone was smoking something and the bed caught fire? Many units from Los Angeles and Culver City responded. There was heavy smoke in the air several blocks away: Historic Culver Hotel in Downtown Culver City in the background: Clarington Ave TPSS work is nearing completion. Looking southeast from National Blvd to Clarington Ave: Interesting work is taking place at the Palms Station. I wonder how they were able to get that drill rig in there. I don't know what the large steel cylinders are for: Looking west from Bagley Ave. They are getting ready for rail installation. Notice that there is a ballast curb on the Exposition Blvd side, where there will be a 17-ft-wide federal multiuse path. In Phase 1, they had ballast curbs on both sides but they are cutting on costs in Phase 2 and there is ballast curb only on one side: Looking east from Bagley Ave. Notice that the ballast curb transitions to the freeway side, as the 17-ft-wide federal multiuse path will zigzag across the tracks at the gated at-grade crossing and transition to the freeway side: Venice Blvd bridge as of today. Still a lot of rebar work for the bridge deck to be done. I don't know why they have the vertical rebars. Are they going to have an emergency walkway so that there will be a wall there to protect people from falling?
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Post by darrell on Sept 12, 2013 14:14:31 GMT -8
... Venice Blvd bridge as of today. Still a lot of rebar work for the bridge deck to be done. I don't know why they have the vertical rebars. Are they going to have an emergency walkway so that there will be a wall there to protect people from falling? If it's like the single-track bridges east of the Culver City station there will be a raised walkway at the same level as the platform with a metal railing. So the vertical rebars would be for the walkway and its support above the rail bridge, but not a parapet wall for people.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 12, 2013 17:18:41 GMT -8
... Venice Blvd bridge as of today. Still a lot of rebar work for the bridge deck to be done. I don't know why they have the vertical rebars. Are they going to have an emergency walkway so that there will be a wall there to protect people from falling? If it's like the single-track bridges east of the Culver City station there will be a raised walkway at the same level as the platform with a metal railing. So the vertical rebars would be for the walkway and its support above the rail bridge, but not a parapet wall for people. So, perhaps similar to what they have on the other end (east end) of the platform: It's too bad that they wouldn't design this as a regular walkway so that people wouldn't have to cross the Venice and Robertson Boulevards traffic lanes at-grade.
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Post by rajacobs on Sept 12, 2013 19:32:47 GMT -8
...Yeh, my thought exactly. Transit-oriented development should include transit-access development! ...Making it easier for pedestrians (and cyclers) to negotiate the intersections and streets in immediate proximity to the stations.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 13, 2013 14:27:06 GMT -8
Concrete pours for the Venice Blvd Bridge deck are starting next week. From the expovenice.org calendar: ------------------- ------------------- EB Venice - Full closure between Culver Blvd and Robertson Blvd Thu, September 19, 9pm – Fri, September 20, 5am A full closure of EB Venice Boulevard between Culver Boulevard and Robertson Boulevard will be required for bridge concrete pours. Eastbound traffic on Venice Boulevard will be detoured at Culver Boulevard. WB Venice Boulevard and Robertson Boulevard will remain open. ------------------- EB Venice - Full closure between Culver Blvd and Robertson Blvd Tue, September 24, 9pm – Wed, September 25, 5am A full closure of EB Venice Boulevard between Culver Boulevard and Robertson Boulevard will be required for bridge concrete pours. Eastbound traffic on Venice Boulevard will be detoured at Culver Boulevard. WB Venice Boulevard and Robertson Boulevard will remain open. ------------------- ------------------- The bridge is behind schedule a few months, preventing the building of the MSE ramp northwest of Venice Blvd. However, I doubt that it will affect the opening date of the line.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Sept 13, 2013 23:25:15 GMT -8
SaMo Approves Big Plans for the Bergamot Station AreaPictures & article linkThe Santa Monica City Council and a large crowd of interested citizens were up until two am on Wednesday morning approving the Bergamot Area Plan--a big, ambitious effort to prepare for the 2016 arrival of the Expo Line to Santa Monica's eastern edge. It will clear the way for new streets and bike paths, and loads of housing and commercial space. Three years in the making, the plan is designed, "to help transition 142.5 acres of former industrial land into a walkable, sustainable, and innovative complete neighborhood," according to the plan's official website. And here's how the Santa Monica Daily Mirror sums it up: "The plan would have four districts, each with specific standards and development densities meant to dictate the kinds of businesses and lifestyles that would take place there." As reported by the SMDP and Santa Monica Next, a large crowd turned out to weigh in on the project: people worried about traffic, people worried about public spaces, and people worried about business. Here are a few of the salient details of the plan, as approved by the City Council: - Two overlay zones will "activate key portions of the plan area with pedestrian-oriented uses and streetscape," according to the SMDP.
- The plan includes allows for the possibility of ten new streets and 15 pedestrian and bicycle pathways.
- Building heights could range from 36 to 86 feet.
- Nebraska Avenue is proposed as the central "spine" that connects a mixed-use creative district with the Transit Village (offices, housing, and retail) proposed by Hines Corp. at the old Paper Mate facility.
- The city has prioritized marketing the developments around the station to first responders (e.g, police and fire), nurses, and teachers.
- Kevin McKeown cast the lone dissenting vote on the plan. He wanted stronger provisions for affordable housing. Following a potential economic analysis, such provisions could be considered as an amendment at a later date.
- The privately owned parcel of the Bergamot Arts Complex will be allowed floor area ratio (FAR) of 1.5 for tier 2 projects and 2.5 FAR for tier 3 projects (tiers are determined by the density of the buildings).
- According to SMDP, the council made a change during the hearing regarding density bonuses: developers building housing affordable for residents making up to 120 percent of the area median income ($77,760 for a family of four), with at least 50 percent of the bonus units being affordable to those making 80 percent of the area median income or lower.
Pictures & article link
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 14, 2013 12:31:48 GMT -8
The article isn't optimistic about the 2015 opening projected by Skanska/Rados.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 14, 2013 19:12:02 GMT -8
The sound walls by Northvale Rd will be 1 ft higher west of Putney Rd than east of Putney Rd. West of Putney Rd (by Overland Ave), they seem to be either 7 ft or 8 ft from the top of the rail (at-grade-street-crossing level) but I can't easily tell which. TPSS (wrapped up in black plastic sheet) at Overland Ave and Northvale Rd, Putney Rd in the background. This used to be Overland Elementary parking lot: Landscaping area: Looking west from Overland Ave: Location of the future Expo Creek: The end of the pipe that goes down the Northvale Rd Trench just northwest of the pedestrian bridge that Darrell had pointed out: I couldn't take pictures of the Northvale Rd Trench because of insufficient lighting but they are now ready for rail installation there, with the subballast (fine gravel) spread. Nevertheless, you could see a little bit in the picture above.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 15, 2013 21:15:15 GMT -8
Northvale Rd Trench waiting for the fresh rails, looking northwest: Looking southeast: You can barely see the to-be-direct-(rail-)fixation segment in front of the northwest portal of Palms Overhead, currently dirt: Looking across the pedestrian bridge from Palms Park to Cheviot Hills: Sawtelle Blvd bridge: The train will barely squeeze under the freeway if at all, not much more than 12 ft clearance being there. I think we might see a lot of damaged pantographs or overhead wires during the operations: Looking from further north: Looking toward the Sepulveda Bridge, the MSE section under the freeway still needs to be built: The sign under the freeway is referring to "falsework" and "formwork:" The Catalina Pacific Concrete plant at Sepulveda and Exposition, which has been producing the Expo concrete. You can see the Sepulveda Bridge as well: Slowly getting toward the opening in 2015.
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Post by culvercitylocke on Sept 15, 2013 23:35:29 GMT -8
is it going to be MSE elevated all the way from sepulveda to Sawtelle?
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 16, 2013 7:05:38 GMT -8
is it going to be MSE elevated all the way from sepulveda to Sawtelle? As you can see in the first Sawtelle Bridge picture above, the elevation of the tracks is decreasing when they are going under the bridge. However, I doubt they will completely come at-grade -- I think there will be a shallow, possibly about a 10-ft-high, MSE section under the freeway and just east of the freeway, before it starts rising to the approximately 25 ft elevation of the Sepulveda Bridge.
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Post by metrocenter on Sept 16, 2013 10:03:27 GMT -8
^ Either way, the 405 underpass will be an interesting part of the ride!
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 16, 2013 11:49:18 GMT -8
^ Either way, the 405 underpass will be an interesting part of the ride! I wonder if the people will scream like in a roller coaster when the train starts dipping toward the freeway and it looks like there is not enough clearance.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 16, 2013 11:49:51 GMT -8
Venice Blvd Bridge:
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Post by rajacobs on Sept 16, 2013 12:54:29 GMT -8
I wonder if the people will scream like in a roller coaster when the train starts dipping toward the freeway and it looks like there is not enough clearance. Wasn't the rail elevation between Military and Pico west of Sepulveda discussed sometime earlier? Were the clearances (and dips and peaks) ever published? ...If the coaster ....I mean transit, does rise and fall to accommodate the lack of a topographical cut for Sepulveda, it sure seems like an inappropriate cost saving measure. ...As for pantograph destruction, ...heads might roll then!
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Post by darrell on Sept 16, 2013 16:36:07 GMT -8
I wonder if the people will scream like in a roller coaster when the train starts dipping toward the freeway and it looks like there is not enough clearance. Wasn't the rail elevation between Military and Pico west of Sepulveda discussed sometime earlier? Were the clearances (and dips and peaks) ever published? ...If the coaster ....I mean transit, does rise and fall to accommodate the lack of a topographical cut for Sepulveda, it sure seems like an inappropriate cost saving measure. ...As for pantograph destruction, ...heads might roll then! Yes, we come back to it every so often, but it's timely now that the bridge is underway. Here's the profile drawing back in 2000 that started it all. Story was the engineer went to Anawalt Lumber to buy plastic pipe to measure how high the freeway bridge bottom (highlighted in yellow) is, in order to conclude it would all fit! Those clearance dimensions you can't read above Sawtelle and below the freeway both say "15' MIN. (TYP.)" The Conceptual Engineering profile drawings in the FEIR note the freeway bridge soffit but don't give any dimension. Skanska's design (image below) using a side-girder bridge like Motor and National allowed the Sawtelle bridge bottom to be thinner enough to not have to lower the street three feet as had been described in the FEIR.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 16, 2013 16:45:03 GMT -8
What are the two clearances (below and above the rail bridge) claimed on that drawing?
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Post by darrell on Sept 16, 2013 16:55:54 GMT -8
What are the two clearances (below and above the rail bridge) claimed on that drawing? Added above: "15' MIN. (TYP.)"
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 16, 2013 17:01:00 GMT -8
Lol 15 ft? No way!
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Sept 16, 2013 17:24:20 GMT -8
It just *MIGHT* squeak out to 15 feet. There's one available view that you didn't shoot Gokhan and that's the reverse angle --looking west from under the 405 is a telling angle that describes what's there. And it's mighty close but it may just be 15 feet. But where that leaves room for electric is beyond me. They can't actually mount anything to the underside of the 405, right?
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Sept 16, 2013 17:50:40 GMT -8
OK, so here's a not scientific and somewhat optically distorted view of the space, but... Using Gohkan's image and taking the ladder at the bottom of the frame and then cutting and pasting it with Photoshop it's possible to determine the space from the falsework to beneath the soffit is approximately 11 rungs tall. OSHA standards require that the rungs on a ladder be not less than 10 inches apart nor more than 14 inches. --https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10839 That means the space is probabably somewhere between 9.16 feet and 12.83 feet. I'm sure my math is flawed, it usually is, so I present this for it's entertainment value. Attachments:
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Post by darrell on Sept 16, 2013 18:56:30 GMT -8
It just *MIGHT* squeak out to 15 feet. There's one available view that you didn't shoot Gokhan and that's the reverse angle --looking west from under the 405 is a telling angle that describes what's there. And it's mighty close but it may just be 15 feet. But where that leaves room for electric is beyond me. They can't actually mount anything to the underside of the 405, right? That would be a "yes" - at least for Flower Street below I-10 - per this Google Streetview image (that even had a train in it!). Also note the low crossarm above the train and almost-flat pantograph. Added: I also presume the Sawtelle falsework is higher than the ultimate bridge will be, with the finished concrete span to be lowered onto its abutments like National was.
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Sept 16, 2013 19:09:34 GMT -8
Thanks Darrell! Nice to know that CalTrans and Metro willing to share their assets.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 16, 2013 22:00:08 GMT -8
Guys, I hate to bring the bad news but I don't think that clearance will be even 13 ft. I measured using the picture and the largest I could come up with was about 14.25 ft between the 405 soffit and bridge abutment, using the 14' 6" sign on the bridge as the reference (which I used for the outermost lane). Accounting for the bridge thickness and the rail slabs and rail, this gives about 12.25 ft for the clearance.
AnsaldoBreda P2550 specs specify 12.25 ft for the height but I don't know if this includes the pantograph. We might see the pantograph fully retracted and many damaged photographs during the operations. This (not lowering Sawtelle Blvd) could end up being a bad cost-saving measure.
Yes, the bridge will be lowered after the concrete is cast (falsework is sitting higher than the abutments), and yes, there is no alternative to fixing the overhead wires on the 405 soffit.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 17, 2013 8:17:24 GMT -8
Skanska just told me that it will be 15 ft. I still find it hard to believe and am curious to see the final product.
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Sept 17, 2013 8:25:28 GMT -8
Here's an illustration of what I *think* you're describing Gokhan. I'm assuming that the 14.6' clearance described by the sign refers to the center-point of the lane where the overpass is lowest. That's illustrated by the pink vertical line. Repeating that same 14.6' once again (illustrated by the red vertical line) appears to project a height greater than the soffit. I say appears because one must take into account perspective and lens distortion. Never-the-less, this remains a tight squeeze and suggests that your estimation of 12.25' of clearance may be close to the mark! We'll see!
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