La Loma Bridge Rehabilitation Falls Behind, Re-Opening Date Now Expected to be in March

[The La Loma Bridge across the Arroyo Seco, originally constructed in 1914, is undergoing a $16 million seismic retrofit and rehabilitation. — Editor]

On December 12 the new bridge roadbed, or deck, was poured, with well over 200 cubic yards of concrete, or more than 20 truckloads. Spectators watched as one large concrete pumping rig reached in from the west end, and then an even larger pumping rig reached up from the bottom of the Arroyo.

With the deck in place the major structural elements of the bridge are now complete, but much work remains: sidewalks, curbs and railings, utility connections and reconnections, road approaches to the bridge at each end, and much more. The expected re-opening date of the bridge is now March.

Why has the re-opening slipped from December to March? According to staff the project has been tougher than anticipated by the project team. Some items were more labor intensive than expected (like the arch forms created by hand). Conflicts with utility infrastructure, not all of which is owned by the City, resulted in delays, along with the challenges of working with old structures. With the deck complete the schedule is expected to have less uncertainty.

Re-opening the bridge to traffic and pedestrians will not mean the project is complete. At that time several months of work will still remain. Visitors to the Arroyo may have noticed markings on the arches. These indicate areas where the arch concrete is decaying or gone and will be replaced. The falsework that has supported the bridge during construction must be carefully taken down, and utilities that have been temporarily re-routed need to be moved back into the bridge structure.

The final phases will include site cleanup and trail restoration. Until then the west side trail will remain closed, including access to the Arroyo from the west end of the bridge. There will be periods when the east side trail will be closed during working hours but otherwise it will remain open.

For more information on the La Loma bridge project please see http://www.cityofpasadena.net/PublicWorks/La_Loma_Bridge_Project/