Metro to repair cracks in support for Gold Line freeway overpass
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A concrete support for a Metro Gold Line bridge that spans the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles has “visible cracks” and will be repaired, transportation officials told The Times on Monday.
The damage is cosmetic and does not put Gold Line passengers at risk, said Bryan Pennington, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s executive director of engineering and construction.
He added that drivers on the 101 Freeway and any nearby pedestrians do not need to worry about falling debris.
The damage was not caused by the magnitude-5.1 earthquake of March 28, Pennington said. A Metro employee found the cracks during a routine inspection two days before the quake.
As a precaution, Metro Gold Line trains will slow to about 8 mph -- about half their normal speed -- on the bridge while crews fix the cracked concrete. Repairs probably will cost tens of thousands of dollars and should be done sometime next week, Pennington said.
“It’s a fairly basic process,” Pennington said. “But again, because of where it is, we’re not taking it for granted.”
The bridge opened in November 2009 as part of the Gold Line’s $890-million expansion, which added six miles of rail between Union Station and Atlantic Boulevard in East Los Angeles.
Twitter: @laura_nelson
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