6th Street Bridge closed once again, police say

[mahatmakanejeeves]

LOCAL NEWS
6th Street Bridge closed once again, police say
by: Travis Schlepp

Posted: Jul 26, 2022 / 09:14 PM PDT

Updated: Jul 27, 2022 / 04:37 AM PDT

The 6th Street Bridge was closed Tuesday evening due to what police were calling “illegal activity” and public safety concerns. ... It’s another closure for the new bridge in what seems to be turning into a nightly game of, “will they/won’t they close it tonight?”

The bridge has been closed more than five times since it opened earlier this month. Over the weekend, the roadway was closed for three consecutive nights. ... The problems plaguing the new bridge have included street takeovers, drag races and climbers.

The issues have led to city councilmember calling for increased police patrols on the bridge and more safety measures to keep people from scaling the sides or blocking off the street. Recently, fencing could be seen blocking off any areas where wannabe daredevils might be able to get a foothold to scale the bridge.

City officials are also discussing the possibility of adding speed bumps on the roadway to stop any would-be racers.

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[kysrsoze]

1. We can't have nice things because of these idiots.

[Merlot]

2. I went to the opening of the 6th Street Bridge

It's a beautiful and amazing piece of architecture, and the plans for the surrounding space are equally amazing. First thing I thought was "it's too nice for us." I could see many ways that people could climb and was surprised there was access - what were they thinking?

So yes, we can have nice things, but we have to work harder to keep them nice.

The towns on the two side of the bridge are very different. Boyle Heights is fiercely fighting any kind of development and the Arts District is over developed and too expensive. Both are interesting places to visit.

There was a car caravan of people from Boyle Heights slowing down traffic in the Arts District. I don't know if this was due to the bridge opening or if it's a regular Saturday night occurrence.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. LA's Half-a-Billion-Dollar Bridge Shut Down After Just 2 Weeks

LA's Half-a-Billion-Dollar Bridge Shut Down After Just 2 Weeks

Street racing and other hooliganism has plagued the 6th Street Viaduct since the day it opened. Now the city is scrambling to add speed bumps and barriers.

By Andy Kalmowitz
Yesterday 2:00PM

The 6th Street Viaduct – Los Angeles’s newest bridge, which opened just two weeks ago – is now closed until further notice, largely due to a near constant stream of illegal activity from drivers taking over the brand-new, $588 million bridge in downtown L.A.

Street racing and other automotive sideshows have plagued the bridge since it first opened on July 10th, according to CBS News. The LAPD has shut down the bridge numerous times in an effort to curb these events, but to no avail. Now, speed bumps are being installed and LAPD Chief Michel Moore is nearly out of ideas.

{snip}

The original bridge the Viaduct replaces was an iconic LA landmark, seen in movies like Grease and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The new bridge wasted no time making a name for itself, clearly.

So far, there’s no timeline for when the Viaduct will re-open. When it does, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the new medians and barriers will prevent further nonsense from shutting down the bridge all over again.