The first of the Sixth Street Viaduct’s arches came down from the bridge early this morning, according to a release from the Bureau of Engineering. That means there are are three arches left to be taken down, Kay Hwangbo, a PR specialist with the city's Public Works Department, tells Curbed. By the Bureau of Engineering's estimates, they are expected to come down throughout the rest of the month.
The bridge, weakened by a chemical reaction that left it vulnerable to damage in the event of an earthquake, is being demolished to make way for a replacement viaduct. The removal of the arches coincides with the bridge demolition hitting its halfway mark.
One of the Sixth Street Bridge’s arches will be saved, and will be dropped into the sprawling recreation space beneath the new bridge, which is set to be complete by 2019’s end. The creation of the recreation space is expected to take another year, until the end 2020, to finish.
The arches aren’t the only part of the bridge being saved. About 1,000 chunks of the viaduct varying in size from "a paperweight to a softball" are being given away next weekend, each with its own certificate of authenticity verifying that it is actually a piece of the 1932 bridge.
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