Looking West On 1st St. Bridge from Mission Rd. [Photo by Alan Weeks]
LA's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has completed 50% of its Metro Gold Line East Side Extension. An MTA mole sent us several megs of construction porn - with narration by the photographer - this morning.
First, a note from the photographer:
Well it has been a few months since we checked out this line. Progress is seen everywhere. The complete line is under construction from one end to the other. The 101 Freeway viaduct is complete except for the rail. Station platforms are being built. Rail is being laid along 3rd Street. Many foundations for the steel support columns to hold the overhead are complete. The track bed is very interesting to me. I have never seen this type of construction before. When building the Blue Line rails were laid in the street but with concrete ties before they poured the concrete around the rails. In East L.A. they are not using ties. They have steel connectors about every 8 or 10 feet to hold the rails in gauge. A thick rubber strip is strapped on each side of each rail and then the concrete is poured all around the rails. How will they ever make repairs to the rail thirty years from now?
Check out the slides and you will see different stages of progress. Also rails have been laid in some of the cross streets. The big 1st Street bridge widening project is well under way. It is really shaping up and must be on time. Again the locations and dates are in each file name. We made this trip on July 19.
MTA Gold Line Construction Sign [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking East on 1st St At Clarence St [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking West On 1st St At Clarence St [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking East on 1st St from Rose St [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking West on 1st St At Rose St [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking East on 3rd St. At Arizona Ave [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking West on 3rd St. At Arizona Ave [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking East on 3rd St. From Humphreys Av [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking East on 3rd St. At Downey Rd [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking East To Atlantic Blvd [Photo by Alan Weeks]
MTA Gold Line Looking To End of Track At Atlantic Av [Photo by Alan Weeks]