6th Street Viaduct (1932) (Los Angeles, California)

USA / California / Vernon / Los Angeles, California / East Sixth Street
 bridge, Art Deco (architecture), historical layer / disappeared object
The 6th Street Viaduct, a streamline-moderne monolith of steel arches and concrete towers, was opened in 1932. Gathered at the midway point, a throng of dignitaries presided over the ribbon cutting— a chain of flowers snipped by a small boy. The LAPD brass band provided entertainment. It would be the last and loftiest of the nine Los Angeles River bridges designed by Merrill Butler, the municipal engineer who believed a graceful monument had the capacity to inspire civic virtue.
At two-thirds of a mile long, the Sixth Street Viaduct was the largest and longest span across the Los Angeles River. It soon became a destination for the forlorn, site of six suicides in its first decade.
When the viaduct was built, masons used concrete from a plant that had been constructed on site at the river's edge for the building of the bridge. The practice was revolutionary at the time, but an aggregate used in the making of the concrete caused it to have a high alkali content. As water has seeped into the concrete over time, the concrete has begun to erode. The rare degenerative condition is called "alkali-silica reaction," and officials say it has weakened the viaduct to the point that it has a 70% chance of collapsing in a major earthquake. It is the only span along the river to have such a condition.
After a series of public meetings over the last two years, city engineers decided that replacing the bridge was the only viable option, because retrofitting would yield a life cycle of only about 30 years.
The city's Cultural Heritage Commission has voted to initiate historic-cultural monument nomination proceedings for this bridge.
If the bridge is ultimately deemed a historic-cultural monument by the City Council, the Cultural Heritage Commission could delay its demolition for up to one year.

Closed Wednesday, January 27, 2016 for demolition. The section over the 101 Freeway was demolished during a 40 hour closure of the 101 on February 6th and 7th, 2016.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Street_Viaduct
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   34°2'13"N   118°13'32"W

Comments

  • isn't this bridge in a lot of movies?
  • the closer s04e09
  • Here is a list of 33 movies or TV shows. http://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=6th%20Street%20Viaduct,%20Los%20Angeles,%20California,%20USA&ref_=ttloc_loc_7
  • This list doesn't include movies shot under the bridge like Grease, There is an easy access to the river under the bridge so it is a really popular location for chase scenes.
This article was last modified 9 years ago