With the weather warming, a long-awaited spring is finally arriving in Los Angeles. And, as the city wakes up, many are seeing a new and exciting shape on the LA skyline: the rising structure of the new Sixth Street Viaduct. As arch falsework emerges along the deck of the viaduct, the final shape of the completed bridge is becoming more visible, and generating welcome excitement among Angelenos.

“After 32 years of driving over the old bridge to City Hall, I can’t wait to drive over this beauty!” wrote one commenter on the Bureau of Engineering's Facebook page, followed by another, “The Romans would be proud of you! As am I.”

The commenters were reacting to daily posts across all social media platforms during National Engineers Week, celebrated the week of February 21st. Each post featured informative facts and photographs about the viaduct, illustrating phases and progress on different elements – progress which many followers, some of whom had stopped traveling regularly downtown during the pandemic, had not been aware of.

Amid exclamations like “I am going to be so happy to see the bridge completed!”, the most common questions on social media were about pedestrian and bike lanes and general accessibility. The wide and separate sidewalks and bicycle lanes planned for both sides of the bridge met with high praise.

Celebrating Engineers in March

Engineers Week was closely followed by Women in Construction Week (March 7-13), which raises awareness about women’s growing contribution and presence in the construction industry, as well as increasing career opportunities. As of 2018, women made up 9.9% of the U.S. workforce in construction, while in contrast, women made up approximately 13% of the U.S. workforce of engineers.

The Bureau of Engineering works hard to promote engineering careers among girls and young women, through the bureau's Racial and Gender Equity Action Plan and through events like Engineers Week and Women in Construction Week. During the month of March, we salute all of our women colleagues and the work they do each day to make the new bridge a reality.

Photo: Julie Allen, P.E., Program Manager, Sixth Street Viaduct Division

The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering is leading the construction of the new, $488 million Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project, the largest bridge project in the history of Los Angeles. The completed structure will be a 3,500-foot long viaduct connecting Boyle Heights and the Arts District across the Los Angeles River. The original viaduct was built in 1932, but had significantly deteriorated due to "concrete cancer"; it was demolished in 2016. The new viaduct will have ten pairs of lit arches, bike lanes and wider sidewalks, along with stairway access and bike ramps connecting to 12 acres of recreational and open space under the bridge. The bridge is funded primarily through the Federal Highway Administration, with additional City support. The viaduct will be completed in 2022.

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