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The Sixth Street Viaduct ends its mighty 84-year run over the Los Angeles River this morning, and last night Angelenos took their last opportunity to say goodbye.
Although there was already an official farewell party back in October, a crowd of around 100 people gathered on the bridge on Tuesday night around 8 p.m. Around 20 LAPD officers responded to the scene, and Officer Mike Lopez told the L.A. Times that one woman was arrested for resisting arrest.
"Everybody just wanted to get shots of his historical bridge," one member of the crowd told CBS 2. "And it became a big thing out here."
Police were called in Tuesday night when hundreds of people and cars began to gather on the iconic Sixth Street Bridge on the eve of its closure prior to demolition.Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department moved in a line down the 84-year-old bridge forcing bystanders and vehicles to clear the roadway, aerial video showed.Only one person was arrested.Read KTLA's story here: http://on.ktla.com/FTQIR
Posted by KTLA 5 News on Tuesday, January 26, 2016
BREAKING NEWS: A large group of revelers have gathered at the iconic 6th Street Bridge in Downtown L.A., and LAPD officers are trying to disperse the crowds. The bridge is slated to be closed, torn down and replaced. Residents said an impromptu goodbye to the historic bridge. abc7.com/1175370
According to ABC 7, officers dispersed the crowd out of safety concerns when a smoke bomb went off and traffic was getting blocked.On Wednesday morning, Councilman Jose Huizar and the designer of the replacement bridge, Michael Maltzan, will go for a "final walk" across the aging span. They will be joined later by Mayor Eric Garcetti to discuss detours and road closures, says City News Service.
The iconic Sixth Street Viaduct has been featured in several films and TV shows through the years, including Grease, Terminator 2, Repo Man, and To Live And Die In L.A.. Unfortunately, it is suffering from an alkali-silica reaction, which is causing its concrete to crack and weaken. "The demise of the bridge will be a tremendous loss to the history and landscape of Los Angeles, and to the many Angelenos who care so deeply about this icon," writes the Los Angeles Conservancy.
Fentanyl and other drugs fuel record deaths among people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County. From 2019 to 2021, deaths jumped 70% to more than 2,200 in a single year.
