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Post by Gokhan on Nov 7, 2013 9:05:15 GMT -8
Although not nearly as flamboyant as its Gold Line counterpart, Expo Line Iconic Bridge is the most artistic bridge along the line. Just like the Gold Line Iconic Bridge, it connects Phase 1 with Phase 2 and spans diagonally across a highway, Venice Boulevard in this case. Here are the first shots of the bridge after most of its falsework removed. All falsework might be gone by the end of the week. It was challenging to shoot these pics under the intense California autumn late-afternoon sun. I really like this section where the bridge nicely arches over the abutment and there is a middle column going between the two spans. It looks like there will be very nice lighting fixtures and there is a fairly generous plaza area, which will look great. I wonder if we'll see landscaping there or perhaps some bike racks or such. The bicycle and pedestrian multiuse path will go between the bridge and the shopping mall, where the "YOGA" sign is pointing at.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 7, 2013 13:15:14 GMT -8
No pictures but there is no more any falsework left over Venice Boulevard as of today. They will probably start removing the falsework over Robertson Boulevard tonight and they might be done either tomorrow morning or Monday morning. The remaining work will be to finish the ends of the bridge (probably a couple of weeks) and polish the surfaces. I am not sure if they will do the rail slabs or Skanska/Rados will do that. Here are the very first shots of the Palms Station plaza. They are doing the foundation of the retaining walls and equipment room. The walls will go along the west, south, and east edges and they will backfill it with earth. There will also be an equipment room (mostly elevator) as mentioned. As you see in the pictures, there are a lot of conduits and cables to be put in place before they can cast the concrete. Once they are done with the retaining wall, they also need to build falsework on the south side of it for the east end of the platform, which will extend from between the two bridges: Also, in case you were wondering, the steel plates and I beams are for temporary shoring to prevent a landslide and they will be removed once the retaining walls are built and backfilling takes place.
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Post by bzcat on Nov 8, 2013 11:22:38 GMT -8
The Palms Station design is very efficient given the small amount of land it had to work with. I hope the proximity to the freeway won't create a noise problem like the stations on the Green line or Silver line. The distance from the Palms Station platform to the freeway is shorter than many Silver line stations.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 8, 2013 11:45:54 GMT -8
I have been on the Palms section of the right-of-way many times and I don't remember being bothered by the freeway noise. It's not that much different than Exposition Blvd stations such as Vermont, in fact probably better as the difference from the car lanes is a lot more.
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Post by rajacobs on Nov 8, 2013 13:13:28 GMT -8
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Post by rajacobs on Nov 8, 2013 13:19:05 GMT -8
Regarding the noise factor at the Palms station, I figure the freeway noise drowns out any possible concern regarding train noise. I can only imagine what some residents would have tried to make out of train noise if the freeway didn't mask it. ...So I figure it's a good thing!
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 8, 2013 14:38:17 GMT -8
Regarding the noise factor at the Palms station, I figure the freeway noise downs out any possible concern regarding train noise. I can only imagine what some residents would have tried to make out of train noise if the freeway didn't mask it. ...So I figure it's a good thing! I live very close to the freeway -- my bedroom window is 483 ft from the outer traffic lane. I do get white noise, which is not that bothersome. Train noise will be different and probably audible over the white noise but it will also be for only a few seconds, as opposed to the constant white noise.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 8, 2013 14:43:24 GMT -8
Don't be jealous. They are on a different schedule. Expo Phase 2 is still months ahead of Foothill and will be so through the completion. Expo Phase 2 is done with all bridges (except for Pico) but not nearly so for Foothill. They will also lay the tracks very soon but not so for Foothill. Expo's goal is to do the OCS and other electrical work in 2014. So, that was pushed to the last for Expo. This still doesn't mean Expo will open before Foothill, as they will need a lot more new trains for Metro's planned 5-minute-in-each-direction headways with 3-car trains.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 10, 2013 18:55:46 GMT -8
Not much progress with rail-track installation yet, other than some ballast, rail, and ties being prepared. They need to finish the section between Military Ave and Westwood Blvd in seven days from today; so, expect to suddenly start seeing a lot in the next few days. From Military Ave: From Westwood Blvd: Westwood / Rancho Park Station across the street, a lot of progress happening in its vicinity:
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Nov 11, 2013 9:53:50 GMT -8
Heavy equipment was moving up and down the Northvale Trench for most of the day on Saturday. I don't think that stretch has ever been worked on the weekend until now. I'm assuming that Veteran's Day is a nonwork day, so I wonder if this was in compensation for the impending day off?
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Post by rubbertoe on Nov 11, 2013 11:11:21 GMT -8
Not surprised that track laying is a bit delayed. If you think about it, when you do start laying track, you want to lay as big a stretch as possible. Before you start laying track, any normal vehicles can use the ROW without any problems. Even if utility vehicles need to get in for last minute tweaks. Once the track is laid, only the special vehicles that have both wheels and the special steel train wheels can access the entire ROW. Makes it pretty inconvenient working in the future if you have to switch between modes 10 times a day. And, you definitely don't want to have to pull the track out once laid for anything you might have forgotten.
RT
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Post by bzcat on Nov 11, 2013 12:06:33 GMT -8
They were doing a lot of work on the Expo/Westwood crossing on Friday and Saturday so they must be getting pretty close to laying rail. You can't see much of anything during the day because it is covered by steel plate but I did catch a glance of it on Saturday when the road was partially closed - the concrete trench is fully formed.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 11, 2013 13:05:09 GMT -8
Yes, what you saw would be utility relocations before they can install the rail tracks. This weekend the intersection will be excavated for the installation of the tracks.
Correct about Veterans Day. We don't get the day off at USC but there is no Expo work taking place today.
I was surprised to see that hardly anything happened over the Venice Blvd Bridge last week. There is still no concrete cast for the westbound emergency walkway. They may remove the remaining falsework, which is over Robertson and east of Robertson, by the end of this week.
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Post by bzcat on Nov 12, 2013 11:28:17 GMT -8
This morning, they were working on cutting the road pavement at Overland/Expo for the rail crossing.
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Post by rajacobs on Nov 12, 2013 11:49:04 GMT -8
This morning, they were working on cutting the road pavement at Overland/Expo for the rail crossing. Are they pulling out any old rail or was that removed sometime previously before any Phase II construction was even contemplated?
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 12, 2013 12:13:48 GMT -8
This morning, they were working on cutting the road pavement at Overland/Expo for the rail crossing. Are they pulling out any old rail or was that removed sometime previously before any Phase II construction was even contemplated? That's utility relocation. They can't install tracks before utilities are relocated or redone. Otherwise, they would have to tear the tracks later. Old track is there and will still be there until they excavate Overland Ave for track installation next weekend. This weekend Westwood Blvd will have the tracks (re)installed.
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Post by bzcat on Nov 12, 2013 15:25:18 GMT -8
What they were doing doesn't look like utility relocation. They were removing a section of the road, a strip roughly about 10 inches deep, at least 5 feet wide (probably more, the steel plates on Westwood Blvd is 2 car length long) all the way from one curb to the other curb [edit: I didn't stick around to see if they did it all the way across Overland but half of the road was closed]. Also, I thought utilities had already been relocated? These were not DWP, Time Warner, or Gas Company crews.
They did the exact same thing at Westwood last Friday - cut the top section of the pavement off and pour some concrete to form the bed for the rail crossing. It looks like a shallow trench under the steel plates.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 12, 2013 15:53:58 GMT -8
What they were doing doesn't look like utility relocation. They were removing a section of the road, a strip roughly about 10 inches deep, 4 or 5 feet wide all the way from one curb to the other curb [edit: I didn't stick around to see if they did it all the way across Overland but half of the road was closed]. Also, I thought utilities had already been relocated? These were not DWP, Time Warner, or Gas Company crews. They did the exact same thing at Westwood last Friday - cut the top section of the pavement off and pour some concrete to form the bed for the rail crossing. It looks like a shallow trench. I am almost sure that it's utility relocation. There is still some stuff left to be done with the utilities before tracks can be installed. It could also be communication conduits for the trains. Tracks are 30-ft-wide. When you see an excavation for the at-grade rail crossing, it will be 30-ft-wide. The reason they are closing the street in the weekend is so that they can excavate the crossing. Also, there is no concrete used in the track bed. It's dirt (road bed), subbalast (fine gravel), and ballast as usual. They then cover the tracks with at-grade-crossing panels so that cars can drive over them. If you saw that concrete was being poured, that's over the utility or train-communication pipes or conduits.
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Post by bzcat on Nov 12, 2013 18:12:48 GMT -8
Got it, thanks for the explanation. It is definitely not utility relocation because the orientation of the trench is wrong. It must be train communication conduits, which has to run parallel to the track. Makes perfect sense.
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Nov 14, 2013 17:10:37 GMT -8
Ties and rail are beginning to go down at Westwood and Exposition. They're almost the length of the station platform. It's conceivable that they'll reach Overland by next Friday. We'll see.
Rail between Westwood and Military has hardly begun. There's a little bit of track on the southern side and nothing on the north. This segment seems like a low priority at the moment.
Do they really expect to lay track on the crossing over the weekend? I'd be shocked if they did. (As well as delighted.) At this point I'm expecting that they'll dig the trenches and then throw steel plates over them. They really don't seem prepared for much more than that.
Still, and all, it's really looking like a railroad over there!
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 14, 2013 22:47:05 GMT -8
Ties and rail are beginning to go down at Westwood and Exposition. They're almost the length of the station platform. It's conceivable that they'll reach Overland by next Friday. We'll see. Rail between Westwood and Military has hardly begun. There's a little bit of track on the southern side and nothing on the north. This segment seems like a low priority at the moment. Do they really expect to lay track on the crossing over the weekend? I'd be shocked if they did. (As well as delighted.) At this point I'm expecting that they'll dig the trenches and then throw steel plates over them. They really don't seem prepared for much more than that. Still, and all, it's really looking like a railroad over there! I should have explained this earlier. They need to lay a short stretch of track just east of Westwood Blvd before they actually start the track installation so that they could get the track-installation machine across the street crossing. The machine will begin installing the tracks at Military Ave and then cross Westwood Blvd this weekend. Without the short stretch of tracks installed just east of Westwood Blvd, it wouldn't be able to install the tracks across the street. Westwood Blvd at-grade rail crossing will be completed this weekend. I also expect the section between Military Ave and Westwood Blvd to be completed this weekend, as they are supposed to install the tracks from west to east. Overland Ave at-grade rail crossing will be completed next weekend, as well as the section between Westwood Blvd and Overland Ave. I will take some pictures of the track installation. I expect the track-installation machine to arrive at Military Ave tomorrow. Expect the section between just east of Military Ave and just east of Westwood Blvd to be finished by Monday morning.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 15, 2013 14:04:44 GMT -8
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Post by davebowman on Nov 15, 2013 14:46:28 GMT -8
Thanks for the pictures. Any chance that die-hard NFSR activists wearing "No Justice No Peace" t-shirts will be prostrating themselves in the middle of Overland to prevent the rail from being installed?
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Nov 16, 2013 11:56:26 GMT -8
I just visited the crossing in progress. I'm happy to eat my words. Track installation is well begun. A helpful onsite rep from the contractors said as of 11am this morning they were ahead of schedule.
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Post by darrell on Nov 16, 2013 16:16:26 GMT -8
I got some good update photos Thursday afternoon (11/14). I'll start with "before" photos at Westwood and Overland, a day before Gokhan's great first track photos: A last view of Westwood Blvd. without tracks. Talk about ductbank conduits! I could still smell the PVC cement. A couple of rails but no tracks. Wider shot with rails, ductbank in lower left corner. Steel plates on Overland, presumably covering ductbank excavation. No tracks.
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Post by darrell on Nov 16, 2013 16:27:50 GMT -8
I always seem to photograph from west to east, and here's what was new in Santa Monica: New OCS pole footings in Colorado between 11th and 14th Streets. The station platforms at 26th Street are well underway, seen from the parking lot at Bergamot Station. And here's a good view of what's left of the old Verizon warehouse buildings, just the south wall serving as a construction fence. The maintenance facility construction so far seems just earth moving.
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Post by darrell on Nov 16, 2013 16:41:43 GMT -8
And segment three of three, West L.A.: Top of the Bundy bridge / station has a finished concrete deck. MSE walls are rising west of the west Pico abutment. More falsework is up for the Pico bridge. From the flat lower bridge falsework I presume the straddle bent supports will be within the thickness of the bridge box structure. All forms are off the Sawtelle bridge - really fast. Here's a detail of how it is still supported above the abutment. Finally, the MSE walls west of Sepulveda are rising. It looks like the tracks will briefly be down to natural grade before rising again to Sawtelle.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 16, 2013 20:05:27 GMT -8
Thanks for the great pictures, Darrell!
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 16, 2013 20:43:06 GMT -8
(Note: You can access the full album and original-size images at this link.)I couldn't help but think about the Neighbors for Smart Rail and Cheviot Hills Homeowners' Association opposition when I was taking these pictures. It was so quiet and peaceful this afternoon along Westwood Boulevard with the street closed for traffic. With the freshly installed railroad tracks, I felt like I was in countryside. We take our cars so granted without realizing that they make our lives a hell. The at-grade street crossing was excavated and the westbound track was mostly installed. They had been working since 9 pm last night and they will work through early Monday morning day and night and finish the entire work by then. Many of the Skanska/Rados staff overseeing the construction had little sleep. I talked to Warren who had slept only for a few hours last night and would do so for the next two nights. Next weekend they will do the Overland Avenue crossing and we will see a lot of rail through the Northvale Road trench in a few weeks. At the moment, they are also casting the rail slabs inside the Palms Overhead freeway undercrossing, which will have direct-fixation rail. The process began with excavating the street crossing and then they spread subballast (fine gravel) followed by ballast (course gravel) over the subballast. The ties (sleepers) are placed every two feet. The rail is installed with the help of a lifting equipment that maneuvers sharply around the tight space. Once they manually install the rail, they will use the ballast regulator and ballast tamper to shape the ballast and vertically and horizontally adjust the position of the rail, respectively. These two large special railroad machines and a special heavy crane used to place them on the track can be seen in the pictures. First I start with a panorama. Note that this is a panorama and that's why the tracks appear curved. They are straight in reality: Note the machine with a hook used to lift and then pull or push the rail in place: You can see the ballast regulator on the left, ballast tamper on the right, and the special heavy crane to lift them on the track in the middle: Last but not least, I shot two videos of the track installation. Watch these to really understand what's going on. What's really peculiar is the sound that comes off the rail when it's hit by a heavy metal object, such as the hook of the lifter. It resonates and produces a very unique sound, like a sound effect in a sci-fi movie -- I am thinking about James Cameron's The Abyss I think:
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Post by TransportationZ on Nov 16, 2013 21:27:55 GMT -8
Last but not least, I shot two videos of the track installation. Watch these to really understand what's going on. What's really peculiar is the sound that comes off the rail when it's hit by a heavy metal object, such as the hook of the lifter. It resonates and produces a very unique sound, like a sound effect in a sci-fi movie -- I am thinking about James Cameron's The Abyss I think: Rail makes a similar sound as a train approaches. I always hear it when light rail and Metrolink Commuter trains approach a station.(Never noticed it on the red line) I always just assumed it was the sound of the metal flexing as the heavy train approached.
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