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Saturday, May 1st brought the media and other invited parties to observe the pouring of two Sixth Street Viaduct arches over the 101 Freeway. 

As part of the City of Los Angeles’s on-going construction of the $588 million Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project, the Bureau of Engineering and its construction partners, Skanska-Stacy & Witbeck (SSW), will require a 55-hour, extended closure of the 101 Freeway to pour concrete for two arches over the freeway. 

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CONCRETE ARCHES & THE RIBBON OF LIGHT

The Sixth Street Viaduct includes ten sets of LED-lit, color-changeable arches that will make up “The Ribbon of Light” design of the bridge. 

The arches are 10 feet wide, with a typical arch span of 300 feet. Each arch takes 260 cubic yards of concrete to construct or about 65 trucks of concrete. 

To keep the concrete cool enough, it is delivered to the site, then injected with liquid nitrogen to keep it close to ambient temperature to reduce the potential for concrete cracking.

The viaduct is scheduled for completion in the Summer of 2022.