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Demolition Of The 6th Street Viaduct Begins
That headline hurts. :(
This morning, demolition crews descended upon the eastern portion of the 6th Street Viaduct and began to demolish the 84-year-old landmark.
The bridge holds a special place in L.A.’s memory. Aside from its appearance in countless films, music videos, and photographs, the bridge itself was an architecturally significant, art-deco landmark that harkened back to an earlier version of Los Angeles now relegated to history.
Although the demolition will take place over the course of several weeks, demolition crews today are working rapidly to demolish the part that stretches over the 101 Freeway in Boyle Heights. Right now, the 101 Freeway is shut down east of the 110 while crews tear down the bridge.
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This portion of the demolition, as Eric Garcetti jammed out earlier this week, is expected to take about 40 hours, during which the 101 will remain closed.
But, honestly, who cares about the freeway closure. Los Angeles is losing a piece of its history today. And though we’ll always remember it in the movies, there was just something so special about driving (or biking) across it, downtown Los Angeles in full view, that the silver-screen will never be able to recreate it.
The new bridge is scheduled to open come 2019.
Here are some social media posts showing the progress of the demolition over the course of the day:
#101SlowJam - chunks of the 6th St. bridge falling into the 101! #dtla #LosAngeles #la @ABC7 #abc7eyewitness pic.twitter.com/9yBdJ3OHXN
— Chelsea Edwards (@_chelseaedwards) February 6, 2016
Demolition begins on the Sixth Street Bridge near downtown #LA. Traffic from #SlowJam101 expected through Sunday. pic.twitter.com/cq0Zj6GWD6
— luis sinco (@luissinco) February 6, 2016
#101SlowJam is in full swing. Check back regularly to get updates on the ongoing #101fwy closure. #LAtraffic pic.twitter.com/VRsnMRKYH4
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) February 6, 2016
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Incredible shot by @CaltransDist7 >>> The Mighty 6th Street Bridge is coming down pic.twitter.com/c3Z04qpHY3
— Shelby Grad (@shelbygrad) February 6, 2016
Lone #skateboarder is the only #traffic on the 101 Freeway as demolition of #SixthStreetBridge continues Saturday. pic.twitter.com/Vx6KbsVYAR
— luis sinco (@luissinco) February 6, 2016
Crews knock down 6th Street Bridge #101SlowJam pic.twitter.com/UtrneO7ODk
— Julie Sone (@ABC7JulieSone) February 6, 2016
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