2,100 cubic yards of concrete has been poured now and the 584-foot Gold Line Bridge is taking shape inside the wood forms above the eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway.
The abandoned rail bridge over Colorado Boulevard in Arcadia will be removed because it could not accommodate the two-track light rail system and the Gold Line Construction Authority determined it was more efficient and cost effective to remove the structure than to widen it or add a second structure directly adjacent to the ole one. Bridge demolition was the first significant construction effort for Foothill Transit Constructors (FTC) and the alignment project. The Construction Authority will have three open houses in the next two weeks to update the community.
Arcadia city is widening and improving three major downtown intersections, a $1 million project that has caused significant congestion in recent weeks. The work is taking place on Huntington Drive at intersections of Santa Anita Avenue, Santa Clara Avenue and Colorado Place. Sixty percent of the funding is by the City and forty percent by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The city is also replacing an older sewer with a new larger one on Baldwin Avenue, northbound between Huntington Drive and Duarte Road, and will repave the road. Cost about $413,000.
Arcadia Police Department held a "topping off" luncheon and ceremony after setting the symbolic final piece of structural steel on the new police facility. The final completion date will be mid-to-late-summer, 2003.
Arcadia Unified School District upgraded and improved four campuses over summer break, costing nearly $10 million. Funded under the district's $218 million Measure I Bond, the four schools that got updated classrooms and facilities are Arcadia High School, Camino Grove Elementary, Hugo Reid Elementary, and Highland Oaks Elementary schools.
Arcadia warns empty-home owners: non-compliance subject to "summary abatement." This is the largest overhaul of abatement regulations since they were imposed on the City in 1972. A citation and fines will be issued and fines will increase for each day no one responds (on residential construction sites that have ceased construction, been abandoned). See correction to errors on April 6, 2017 issue of Arcadia Weekly.
The Blue Line Construction authority board supported creation of a 15-member panel to see the planning, design and construction of the Gold Line's 22.5 mile extension thru Arcadia to Claremont.
The city council has decided to appropriate $35,000 toward the design of a light rail bridge over Santa Anita Avenue. This is to pay for early design work needed for an environmental impact report. The bridge project is expected to cost the city $10.7 million which may come from a bond. The Construction Authority would pay $18.4 million bringing total bridge cost to $29.1 million.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined a $16 million program to finish all public building projects for Arcadia in three years, as part of the city's five-year capital budget. The spending would include a new $6.5 million City Hall, a $1.3 million upgrade to Fire Station 106 on Baldwin Avenue. The city plans to build a new fire station to replace Fire Station 105 on Santa Anita Avenue. A city gym for the civic center property is in planning stages. The city plans to re-roof the community center for $150,000 and to put up 1/2 of the $800,000 cost to make the high school sports field an all-weather facility.
The City of Arcadia and Arcadia City Council are working on plans for a new civic center and multipurpose facility that would be located next to City Hall and the newly constructed police station. The project would use money from the capital construction fund and is not part of the city's general fund.
The City of Arcadia has contracted with Gonzalez Goodale Architects to plan for a new City Hall. Both Upper and Lower City Hall buildings will be torn down after completion of the new facility.
The City of Arcadia is using $646,000 in federal stimulus funds for repairs, repaving, re-striping and adding bicycle lanes on Santa Anita Avenue, north of Foothill Boulevard. The city has received $534,000 in stimulus money to retrofit City Hall with an energy-efficient heating and cooling system and $80,000 for equipment and training for its police department. Sometime in late spring, officials plan to widen intersections along Santa Anita Avenue, adding turn lanes or through lanes at Foothill Boulevard, Live Oak Avenue and Duarte Road.
Construction of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension bridge, that will span the 210 Freeway, has begun. Preparation of the giant column supports included drilling over 100 feet into the ground. The 584-foot Gold Line bridge will take shape by December. It replaces an old railroad bridge across the freeway, which was built about 1969 and torn down in 1997, said Gary Baker, director of construction for the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority. The bridge's design has been controversial, as some say it is not representative of the origins of the area. The entire bridge is slated to be finished summer 2012.
Construction of the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum is experiencing delays. The city can charge penalties to BEGL Construction Company for delays of up to $500 per day. The project is 3 months past the completion date.
Duarte Road, from El Monte Avenue to the western city limits, will have utility lines placed underground. The cost will be $2.3 million. The issue of undergrounding utilities came up during the January windstorm, when nearly 30 power poles were knocked down on Live Oak Avenue.