FEATURE
COVER STORY
REVIVAL
"The Gold Line Bridge revives an important American tradition of including
artists in design of major infrastructure,"
said former publisher and editor-in-chief
of Arts and Architecture magazine Barbara Goldstein, an international authority on public art practice and policy.
"The bridge evokes the great infrastructure designs of the 1930s Works Progress
Administration and it signals a new era
of artist involvement in the major public
initiatives of our time—transportation
systems for the 21st Century. Andrew
Leicester has created a poetic expression
for the Gold Line Bridge that captures
the time, place and history of its region."
Construction of the Foothill Extension
from Pasadena to Azusa is one of the region's largest and most important transit projects. The project is generating
nearly 7,000 jobs (2,600 in construction) and $1 billion in economic output
for the region during its four-year construction period. It is the first Measure
R-funded rail project to break ground,
and is on schedule to be completed in
late 2015. Sources: Metro Gold Line
Foothill Extension Construction Authority; National Ready Mix
The main girder pour lasted just over 20 hours. The placement was slow because of the intricate design of the
forms, and the rounded bottom of the structure. At 2,000 yd., the pour posed special concerns of excessive
heat build-up in the main girder mass. Cooling tubes were embedded to minimize the risk of rapid hydration.
The schedule had to be set-up to limit the duration of an Interstate 210 closure.
National Ready Mix's concrete schedule included three Caltrans mixes, each with 25 percent fly ash binder: a)
girder and deck, 3,000 yd. of mix 85125, 7,000 psi, 0.33 w/c ratio; b) abutment and footings, 2,000 yd. of mix
72500, 4,000 psi, 0.45 w/c ratio; and, c) columns, 400 yd. of Caltrans mix 78010, 5,500 psi with 0.40 w/c ratio.
POUR PHOTOS: National Ready Mix
22 | MARCH 2013
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