Politics & Government

Colorado Boulevard Bridge Work Begins for Gold Line

The Arcadia bridge is part of the $733 million project to extend the Gold Line 11.5 miles between Pasadena and Azusa.

Arcadia's Colorado Boulevard will remain closed from Jan. 7 to April 30 to make way for construction of the Colorado Boulevard Bridge.

Once the bridge is complete, crews will move onto the Santa Anita and Huntington bridges. Then, they can finally begin laying track for the $735 million project to extend the Gold Line 11.5 miles between Pasadena and Azusa.

"The nice thing about bridges is that they separate the cars from the train. It's a mess," Arcadia's Chief City Engineer Philip Wray said. "It's a traffic problem and there's always the potential for someone running the gates. If we had a gate crossing you can imagine it would be another concern and liability for us and the railroad to deal with."

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The new bridge will replace the former steel bridge on Colorado Boulevard, which was built in the 1930s. Though the new bridge will be constructed of concrete instead of steel, it will retain many of the old bridge's features, including the Art Deco borders on the abutments.

"We want...to keep that design, that character," Wray said. "It's a historic architecture that we felt very strongly about keeping. It keeps a little of the history of the railroad. It kind of tells you a little bit about that."

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WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Colorado Boulevard will be fully closed to thru-traffic between San Antonio Rd and Santa Anita Ave from Jan. 7-April 30.
• Turn lanes from Colorado Place onto Colorado Boulevard will be closed.
• Detour signs will be posted to direct vehicular traffic, bicyclists and pedestrians during the closure.
• Local residences and businesses can be accessed by use of the detour route.
• Newcastle Park will remain open.
• Construction equipment noise will be heard near active work zones.
• Watering equipment will be used to control dust.


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