An old railroad bridge above Century Boulevard at Aviation Boulevard just east of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will be demolished the final weekend of July, it was confirmed by Metro on June 23.
It is not quite Carmageddon, but the demolition will require Century Boulevard at Aviation Boulevard to be shut down to vehicular and pedestrian traffic for 57 hours between the evening of July 25 and the morning of July 28.
Metro is demolishing the defunct rail bridge to make way for one of the stations of the planned Crenshaw/LAX Line – aptly named Aviation/Century station.
Drivers heading in and out of LAX will have an alternate route to head to all points east or north from the airport during the 57-hour full closure.
For those heading into LAX on Century Boulevard from the east, the detour will take drivers from Century onto La Cienega and north to Manchester. There, drivers can turn left and head west toward Airport Boulevard. A second left turn onto Airport Boulevard will bring drivers to an entrance toward LAX.
Anyone leaving LAX could travel on Century Boulevard one block east to Airport Boulevard and turn left. Once on Airport Boulevard, drivers can either continue north to points such as Santa Monica, Culver City, or West Los Angeles. However, to head into Inglewood or other points to the east, drivers could turn right onto Manchester, pass Aviation Boulevard, and then making a second right onto La Cienega. Once on La Cienega, drivers can join Century Boulevard by making a left turn and driving away from LAX.
Penhall, which had demolished the Mulholland Bridge in the Sepulveda Pass in 2011 and 2012 as part of Carmageddon, will perform the 57-hour demolition project.
The Crenshaw/LAX Line is an 8.5-mile north-south rail project connecting the Green Line to the Expo Line. Air travelers on the Westside will be able to use the Crenshaw Line to access LAX by rail.
Funding for the nearly $2.1 billion Metro line was made possible by Measure R. The Crenshaw/LAX line includes eight new stations and will serve the airport area, Westchester, Inglewood, and the Crenshaw Corridor before connecting with the Expo Line in Mid-City.
More information about the planned rail line can be found at metro.net/Crenshaw, Facebook, Twitter, phone (213-922-2736), or email (crenshawcorridor@metro.net).
Follow Parimal M. Rohit on Twitter: @ParimalRohit
