The Century Crunch bridge demolition was completed today, 4 1/2 hours ahead of schedule, and the intersection of Century and Aviation boulevards was reopened at 1:30 a.m, a Metro official said.
“Everybody participated in this effort,” said Metro’s Jose Ubaldo.
“Instead of 57 hours it took 52 1/2 hours,” he said. “Last night it was like watching ballet dancing to see how all those machines worked.”
Crews completed demolishing the old Santa Fe railroad freight bridge, removed debris and installed new traffic signals, he said. They also re-striped traffic lanes and installed K-rail since one lane of Century Boulevard in each direction will be out of commission for 16 months while crews build infrastructure for a new elevated light rail station, Ubaldo said.
Workers began tearing out the old railroad flyover shortly after 10 p.m. Friday to make way for a new light rail station for the Crenshaw/LAX line, which will connect the Metro Green and Expo lines.
The next phase scheduled to begin in late August or September is construction of underground stations at Crenshaw and Exposition, Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards and Vernon Avenue, Ubaldo said.
When completed in 2019, the 8.5-mile, $2.058 billion Crenshaw/LAX line will run from the Metro Expo Line, at Exposition and Crenshaw boulevards, to the Green Line station near the airport.
LAX officials hope to build a “people mover” at the new 96th Street Station to connect the light rail line to LAX terminals.
