Sixth Street Viaduct

6th Street Viaduct

Sixth Street Bridge
Coordinates 34°2′17″N 118°13′37″W / 34.03806°N 118.22694°WCoordinates: 34°2′17″N 118°13′37″W / 34.03806°N 118.22694°W
Carries 6th Street/Whittier Boulevard
Crosses Metrolink tracks, Los Angeles River, Union Pacific Railroad tracks, Santa Ana Freeway, Golden State Freeway, several local streets
Locale Downtown and Boyle Heights areas of Los Angeles, California
Official name Sixth Street Bridge from the LA River
Other name(s) 6th Street Viaduct
Maintained by City of Los Angeles and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
ID number 53C-1880 (City of Los Angeles), 53-0595 (Caltrans)
Characteristics
Design Viaduct
Material Reinforced concrete and steel
Total length 3,500 feet (1,100 m)
Width 46 feet (14 m)
History
Opened 1932

The Sixth Street Viaduct is a viaduct bridge that connects the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles with the Boyle Heights neighborhood. It spans the Los Angeles River, the Santa Ana Freeway (US 101), and the Golden State Freeway (I-5), as well as Metrolink and Union Pacific railroad tracks and several local streets. Built in 1932, the viaduct is composed of three independent structures: the reinforced concrete west segment, the central steel arch segment over the river, and the reinforced concrete east segment.

In 1986, the Caltrans bridge survey found the 6th Street Viaduct eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

Degradation

During the construction of the viaduct, an on-site plant was used to supply the concrete for construction. However, the quality of the concrete turned out to have a high alkali content and led to an alkali-silica reaction which creates cracks in the concrete and saps the strength of the structure.

Estimates are that the viaduct has a 70% probability of collapse due to a major earthquake within 50 years.[2]

It is one of the only historic LA River bridges to suffer from ASR.

Titles where the Viaduct is seen

Films

Music videos

Television

Videogames

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Sixth Street Viaduct has Cancer; Suggested Treatment: New Bridge". blogdowntown. Retrieved 2013-04-27.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
6th Street Bridge
(Los Angeles River).