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City awards design firm $30 millon contract for new 6th Street Bridge

By Hayley Fox
Published: Friday, March 08, 2013, at 04:32PM

via HNTB

A rendering of the design for the new 6th Street Bridge.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The L.A. City Council approved a $30 million contract this week for the design firm that will be creating a brand new 6th Street bridge.

HNTB won a competition for the project last year, with their concept of canted cable supported arches and "community gathering space" slated for both sides of the L.A. River.

"The HNTB Sixth Street Viaduct conceptual design - a ribbon of arches - melds current structural technology with an aesthetic vision that embraces the entire 3,500-foot length,” said City engineer Gary Lee Moore in a statement last year. “It will be an infrastructure element that I anticipate will become an icon for Los Angeles.”

Renderings for the new structure depict recreation spaces and sports courts underneath the bridge, as well as a skate park and an outdoor plaza. The plaza slated for the Arts District side of the structure may also host cafe´s, live music and public art.

The current bridge, which has been used as a backdrop for countless film shoots and music videos, is about 80 years old and a recognizable part of DTLA's landscape.

But it has a type of "concrete cancer" that's effecting the bridge's structural integrity, making it the "most at-risk bridge in the city to collapse during a major earthquake," according to Huizar.

“I thank my colleagues on the City Council for taking this final, decisive action, which will allow us to replace our iconic bridge with an equally iconic marvel that will utilize the L.A. River and pedestrian access in a way never seen before,” said Councilman José Huizar.

Construction on the new bridge is expected to begin in 2015 after approval from the Board of Public Works and the City Council. The project is expected to be completed in late 2018 and opened in 2019.

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Conversation

Pyewacket LeChat on March 09, 2013, at 11:10PM – #1

"...said City engineer Gary Lee Moore in a statement last year. “It will be an infrastructure element that I anticipate will become an icon for Los Angeles.”

Right. Sure, like the one that is already there ISN'T an icon. Like it isn't instantly recognizable. I know all the talk about "concrete cancer" and on and on, but I have my doubts as to the validity of the studies. You know what they say, "figures don't lie, but liars figure." It sounds like a "make work" project and a corporate "get rich" scheme off the taxpayer's back, if you ask me. If they REALLY wanted to have an iconic bridge, simply shore up the one they already have, IF it really needs it. Tearing the old one down, carting it away, and building a new one is way more expensive, and honestly, we LOVE the original. Leave it up.

Arnold Schwarzzie on March 10, 2013, at 12:04PM – #2

There will be SO many people detouring through Boyle Heights just to be able to drive west across a dazzling NEW icon destined for Oz that business will accelerate east of the Paredon Blanco and if one does not know what that is, then they simply do not know the natural history of the L.A. River.

Morthos on March 10, 2013, at 06:28PM – #3

@Arnold Schwarzzie

I highly doubt that. I think that people will not like this new pathetic excuse of a bridge. In fact I know many people already hate it and it is still only a concept. It will not be an icon. It will be more like Bunker Hill, which serves as a reminder that LA cares not one bit about its history and will destroy it faster than it can create it.

Personally I hope that plans fall through and it does not get built. I do not want that eyesore anywhere near me. It belongs in Dubai where they have nothing but soulless architecture. And if it does get built, I completely approve of people tagging it and defacing it, showing it the proper disrespect it deserves, as it is showing disrespect for our history and culture.

All this bridge will be known for is the fact that it replaced "that really nice bridge". That is hardly something to be proud of...

Eric Solis on March 11, 2013, at 12:25AM – #4

@Morthos

If you really want to see a "pathetic excuse of a bridge", you should try looking at the other competition entries that were submitted for this project (especially AECOM's). Yes, this bridge is still only a concept; a design concept that places as much, if not more, emphasis on pedestrians and cyclists as motorists - and you think this is a bad thing? Also, you must not know much about the proposed design which includes keeping parts of the historic bridge intact as permanent artifacts in the landscape which will serve as a reminder of the structure that once stood - much like modern ruins, so you're assertion that "LA cares not one bit about its history and will destroy it faster than it can create it" is not valid when speaking about this project and what is planned. Mother Nature, in the form of a 7.0+ magnitude earthquake (which we are long overdue for), will destroy this bridge first if we choose to do nothing.. (Just ask city engineers who conducted years worth of repair efforts, research, tests, and calculations to determine this)

So you still personally "hope that plans fall through and it does not get built"? Why? So we can sit and wait for the bridge to fail in a catastrophic event, or so we can get some crappy "value engineered" bridge that will resemble a truly soulless generic freeway overpass? And the fact that you approve of defacing public property is a very sad offense to the civic pride of our city, all because you somehow think "it is showing disrespect for our history and culture" - the design is directly responding to the historic form of the bridge's arches and is also responding to LA's emerging multi-modal culture; your opinion clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding for what the goals of this project are.

I should know, as I am part of the design team and can tell you on a personal level that this project is in very good hands. My senior thesis research at USC was heavily focused on the history, urban conditions, and cultural significance of this bridge, so you can believe that I too am deeply in love with it and have a fond admiration for what it represents to our city's history and culture and feel very sad that it will eventually be taken off-line (as does everyone else on the project team).. That is why we are trying to save as much as the original structure as we can, and why we chose to reincarnate the arched span as a deliberate remembrance of the past. So please have an open mind and do more research on the project, and instead of spewing negative rants from behind your keyboard get involved in public discussions with the Mayor's office, the Bureau of Engineering, the Board of Public Works and City Council Member Huizar's office if you truly care. This bridge will serve as a piece of the larger plan in LA's promising transportation future. Try reading this op-ed article from the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-10-reasons-to-salute-las-promising-transportation-future-20130308,0,3837497.photogallery?index=la-ol-the-6th-street-viaduct-20130308

Arnold Schwarzzie on March 11, 2013, at 06:44PM – #5

THANK YOU Eric Solis!!

DawnC on March 17, 2013, at 01:39PM – #6

I second the thank you to Eric's thoughtful response. It's weird how people forget about earthquakes when we haven't had a good strong one in a while. Anyone that was here during Northridge should appreciate the destruction and death that can result when something crumbles. Can you imagine if it happened during rush hour?

Any plans to include a dog park in the recreational areas of the bridge? We have a small one at the corner of 4th and Molino but the land is privately owned so it could be lost as soon as the owners decide that it's more profitable to have something else there. We could really use something at least double that size with grass, shade, and dog water fountains (like Grand Park has). Since a large percentage of downtown residents have dogs, a new larger dog park would get A LOT of use. It's amazing to me how much better I have gotten to know my neighbors now that I have a dog.