Sixth Street Viaduct
| 6th Street Viaduct | |
|---|---|
Sixth Street Bridge
|
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| 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 |
| Closed | 2016 |
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The Sixth Street Viaduct, also known as the Sixth Street Bridge, was a viaduct bridge that connected the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles with the Boyle Heights neighborhood. It spanned 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 was 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 Sixth Street Viaduct eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
Despite its historical status, the bridge was closed for demolition and replacement in January 2016 due to concerns over seismic instability.
During the construction of the viaduct in the 1930s, an onsite 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 (ASR) which created cracks in the concrete and sapped the strength of the structure. It is the only one of the historic LA River bridges to suffer from ASR.
Estimates stated that the viaduct had a 70% probability of collapse due to a major earthquake within 50 years.
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Wikipedia