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Post by bzcat on Oct 31, 2013 9:35:17 GMT -8
Very, very, very big news from the Expo community meeting tonight. I will post it tomorrow. We are waiting with anticipation...
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Post by masonite on Oct 31, 2013 10:02:41 GMT -8
Very, very, very big news from the Expo community meeting tonight. I will post it tomorrow. We are waiting with anticipation... Yeah, let's hear it. I hope you mean what you say and it is not that we have reached 50% completion on Phase 2
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Post by Gokhan on Oct 31, 2013 11:17:50 GMT -8
I want to get one of these to take Expo pictures and videos: They were filming a gun-battle scene at National/Palms/Exposition/Hughes for NCIS yesterday all day long.
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Post by Gokhan on Oct 31, 2013 12:00:27 GMT -8
BREAKING NEWS: Expo Line Phase 2 rail-track installation starts today (on Halloween)A huge milestone for Expo Line Phase 2: rail-track installation finally starts today, on Halloween 2013. Ironically, Neighbors for Smart Rail (NFSR) opposition to Expo Line Phase 2 had used Halloween colors for their lawn signs against rail. They are starting to lay rail-tracks at Military Avenue and they will gradually progress from west to east all the way to the Venice Blvd Bridge. Today they are pouring ballast (stones) into the track bed between Military Ave and Westwood Blvd and in a few days they will bring an automatic track-laying machine. They will lay the tracks until the Westwood Blvd crossing and then close Westwood Blvd in the weekend of November 15 to have the track-laying machine lay the tracks across Westwood Blvd. Then the machine will lay the tracks between Westwood Blvd and Overland Ave during the week and lay them across Overland Ave the following weekend, and then it will continue laying tracks in the Northvale Road Trench. Note that in Expo Line Phase 1, they laid the tracks the old-fashioned way by installing all at-grade crossings manually first and then installing the rail in between the at-grade crossings using manual labor as well. Gold Line Foothill Extension is also installing the tracks the old-fashioned way using manual labor. In sharp contrast, Skanska/Rados is employing state-of-art technology to ensure extremely precise and accurate, fail-safe installation of the tracks and to do so in a very short time. Here is a typical track-laying machine (not the one that will be used for Expo Phase 2): In other news, the current target for the completion of construction is May - July 2015, not including train testing. Part of train testing can overlap with the construction. Expo Phase 2 requires two additional trains to the six trains that are being used for Expo Phase 1 at the moment for the current 12-minute headways. However, Metro's intention is to run Phase 2 with 5-minute headways. This requires thirteen additional trains and would put the Phase 2 opening date in March 2016 for the 39 new Kinkisharyo cars to arrive. If there is political push to open the line with 10-minute headways instead, albeit it could result in very crowded trains, the line could open as early as late 2015 after the end of the testing period (perhaps about six months), with approximately five to seven new Kinkisharyo cars arriving every month starting July 2015. In more news, Motor Ave Bridge is now finished, with the falsework and temporary supports completely gone and lowered to and resting on its final place on the abutments. They still need to cast concrete at the junctions at the abutments, which will take a couple of weeks: The ground slab for the Clarington Ave TPSS is now finished: The anomalous Pico Blvd median foundation turned out to be OK after long and intense testing. They pumped high-pressure grout through the test pipes, which would normally destroy any faulty concrete but it didn't result in any breakage and they OK'd it as a result. Currently everything in construction is on schedule. I took pictures of the plans for the Expo Phase 2 bike and pedestrian multiuse path and rail alignment. There are many of them and I am putting them below. A notable update is that they moved the bike and pedestrian path east of Bagley Ave from the north to the south of the tracks, which is the same as west of Bagley Ave now. The caveat is that the path east of Bagley Ave will now be a little narrower than the 17 ft federal standard:
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Post by bzcat on Oct 31, 2013 13:53:24 GMT -8
Nice update... worth the wait! It's as I predicted several pages back that would start laying track between Military and Westwood first and work their way towards Bagley.
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Post by rajacobs on Oct 31, 2013 15:58:19 GMT -8
I'd love to see Skankos so organized and on top of hte project schedule that they're able to begin laying track at Military and never stop until they hit the bridge at Venice with the Motor bridge abutments completed and the remaining westbound MSE at National/Palms/Exposition completed in the intervening weeks as rail is laid farther west and finally, Skankos initiates and completes the MSE ramp up to the Venice bridge.
A fantasy to be sure but it would be great!
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Post by masonite on Nov 1, 2013 8:58:31 GMT -8
Looks like if everything goes right, it will still be a long shot to have the line open in 2015. Spring 2016 is looking more likely. I think I need to switch my vote back from Jan. 2016 to May 2016, where I originally had it.
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Nov 1, 2013 9:53:49 GMT -8
Thanks for the news update Gokhan --and all the terrific imagery to go with it. Studying the site plans is great fun and hugely informative!
Looks like my initial prediction of a March 2016 opening missed the mark by a few scant weeks --at least for now.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 1, 2013 10:08:38 GMT -8
Thanks for the news update Gokhan --and all the terrific imagery to go with it. Studying the site plans is great fun and hugely informative! Looks like my initial prediction of a March 2016 opening missed the mark by a few scant weeks --at least for now. Watch out for that track-laying monster in your backyard, f ron!
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Nov 1, 2013 10:42:13 GMT -8
Thanks for the news update Gokhan --and all the terrific imagery to go with it. Studying the site plans is great fun and hugely informative! Looks like my initial prediction of a March 2016 opening missed the mark by a few scant weeks --at least for now. Watch out for that track-laying monster in your backyard, f ron! Photographs to follow!
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 1, 2013 11:39:22 GMT -8
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 1, 2013 11:45:15 GMT -8
Track laying between Military Ave and Westwood Blvd will be interesting because there will be a track switch there.
More expensive special trackwork including the frogs are using concrete ties instead of wooden ties this time at Metro's request for longer durability and better reliability.
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Post by RMoses on Nov 1, 2013 12:12:58 GMT -8
Track laying between Military Ave and Westwood Blvd will be interesting because there will be a track switch there. More expensive special trackwork including the frogs are using concrete ties instead of wooden ties this time at Metro's request for longer durability and better reliability. In addition, just west of Military there still is a parking lot in the ROW.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 1, 2013 12:15:53 GMT -8
Track laying between Military Ave and Westwood Blvd will be interesting because there will be a track switch there. More expensive special trackwork including the frogs are using concrete ties instead of wooden ties this time at Metro's request for longer durability and better reliability. In addition, just west of Military there still is a perking lot in the ROW. Yes, no trackwork on Military Ave or west of Military Ave until next spring or so. Otherwise, City of LA won't be able to give any parking tickets as the parking-enforcement cars are parking on the right-of-way there.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Nov 1, 2013 12:36:57 GMT -8
When is the parking officers makeshift lot east of Expo/Sepulveda going to be torn for the rail ilne?
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Post by joshuanickel on Nov 1, 2013 12:44:11 GMT -8
When is the parking officers makeshift lot east of Expo/Sepulveda going to be torn for the rail ilne? When the new parking structure is finished. Level one will be for DOT employees while levels 2 and 3 will be metro parking. You will not be able to access Level one from the entrance to the metro parking. There will be a ramp that goes from the street straight to level two.
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Post by RMoses on Nov 1, 2013 15:46:29 GMT -8
Latest from the 4th St Terminus.
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Post by RMoses on Nov 1, 2013 15:51:38 GMT -8
Additional shots including the north plaza sidewalk extension for the Esplanade and bike lane.
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Post by RMoses on Nov 1, 2013 15:54:41 GMT -8
Last ones showing the station retaining walls in place on the west, north and rebar on the south side along with the TPSS location.
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Post by skater on Nov 1, 2013 21:12:55 GMT -8
Thanks to those who shared the good pictures! I sure hope metro decides to open the line as soon as testing is done and not wait for the new LRVs. I say opening the line soooner, but having crowded trains is worth it. Maybe it will shut up the [lack of] reason foundation. Surely there must be some extra nippon sharyos or perhaps ansladobredas they can use. At rush hour do they have many extras now? Are 5 min. headways as low as it can get without the regional connector?
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 4, 2013 9:30:40 GMT -8
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Post by bzcat on Nov 4, 2013 11:01:23 GMT -8
I think I spotted part of the track laying monster on a flatbed truck this morning on Overland. They are bring it the monster in pieces and assembling it on site.
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Post by darrell on Nov 4, 2013 13:17:41 GMT -8
I think I spotted part of the track laying monster on a flatbed truck this morning on Overland. They are bring it the monster in pieces and assembling it on site. Any sign of ballast yet? I'd expect many dump trucks of ballast will need to start arriving, and forget how it was spread in Phase 1. Extended dump, or drop from hopper truck trailers? Photos of the Farmdale crossing show sub-base, then a first layer of ballast, ties set down, rail applied, and then more ballast spread over the track for final vertical adjustment of the ties within the ballast. And thanks for the latest photos, Gokhan!
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Post by RMoses on Nov 4, 2013 14:49:43 GMT -8
I think I spotted part of the track laying monster on a flatbed truck this morning on Overland. They are bring it the monster in pieces and assembling it on site. Any sign of ballast yet? I'd expect many dump trucks of ballast will need to start arriving, and forget how it was spread in Phase 1. Extended dump, or drop from hopper truck trailers? Photos of the Farmdale crossing show sub-base, then a first layer of ballast, ties set down, rail applied, and then more ballast spread over the track for final vertical adjustment of the ties within the ballast. And thanks for the latest photos, Gokhan! Ballast was being dumped east of Overland last Thursday, then proceeding east west to Military.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 4, 2013 18:03:05 GMT -8
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Post by bzcat on Nov 5, 2013 11:08:34 GMT -8
They were putting down some ballast between Military and Westwood this morning.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 5, 2013 19:03:32 GMT -8
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Nov 6, 2013 11:34:06 GMT -8
Thanks for the photos Gokhan. --man, those taggers will have pretty much trashed the entire line by the time they're through. Surely there's some kind of monitoring of the site(s) which can be done.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 6, 2013 16:13:32 GMT -8
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Post by rajacobs on Nov 7, 2013 0:07:21 GMT -8
Although not nearly as flamboyant as its Gold Line counterpart, Expo Line Iconic Bridge is the most artistic bridge along the line. Although technically, possibly accurate, ...the statement is still a reach! To my mind, the bridge is functional and please G-d, will be placed in service in the foreseeable future!
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