The winning design, easily the most ambitious of three finalists announced last month, calls for a repeating series of concrete arches that both refer to and exaggerate the Butler design as the bridge stretches from downtown Los Angeles on the west to Boyle Heights on the east, spanning the L.A. River and the 101 Freeway on its way. — latimes.com
6 Comments
$401 million for a bridge in a City that is out of money. Seems like a good use of federal funds. Good job Mr. Mayor.
Does seem like a lot for a bridge.. Who knows, maybe there's an accelerated construction schedule driving cost, complex phasing?... Complex Foundation Work? Who knows.
One thing is for sure - with the traffic issues in that city it cannot afford to lose a major artery for any length of time.
thoughtful design - like how it respects the original bridge design/designer, but still manages to pull off a more updated, powerful aesthetic. Doesn't go overboard - it "works". Sure, if a Calatrava or Foster had won we may be looking at something more sophisticated, but I doubt that's what the city was looking for by the sounds of it. Then we might see a billion dollar price tag. Looks like HNTB delivered a strong design that could be built for less than half a billion dollars! Nice
eco/nomically very risky project. without the public, it can turn into a desolate white legacy elephant and "we had to do something" disaster. on the other hand, if it becomes a popular recreational destination, it becomes a successful gentrifier. it is always the public works which paves the way for urban transformation. time will tell. i need to look into it more.
It was already there though, no? Or do you mean the connections to the riverbank that could go desolate?
But the need to keep a bridge from failing was absolute. Might as well try to improve its original function. But yes - carefully, no doubt about it. Throwing in ideas doesn't work. Gotta be good planning studies, etc to identify a thoughtful secondary function. Something that easily compliments and feeds additional use.
Spending $401-million for 6th Street bridge during this time does not sound right to me.
Infrastructure ignites more private sector work - and usually comes from different funding sources.. Many times if the state doesn't use the money it goes back to congress - where they can spend it on other things.
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