Crews continue to install the form work for the southern bridge abutment. Late next week, crews are scheduled to pour concrete.

The Construction Authority Board of Directors will be holding a meeting on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority Offices, 406 E. Huntington Drive, Suite 202, Monrovia, CA 91016. Click here for more information or to view the meeting agenda and reports.

Construction on the bridge is on schedule and is progressing well. The substructure elements will be completed once the final abutment (the ends of the bridge) is poured next week. Once that activity is done, crews will be able to focus their attention on construction of the superstructure. Click here, or on the image above, to watch this five minute construction update for January – March 2012.

Let us know what you think of the video. Is it helpful? Do you have unanswered questions? Your feedback is appreciated.

This photo was taken from the perspective of the artist rendering. You can now start to see the main elements of the bridge take shape. On either side of the freeway, the two main column structures are in place. These will support the main cross beam and become the base for the 25-foot tall basket features to be added later this year.

The third and final column was completed this week. This photo shows the crew successfully removing the form, after it was allowed to begin curing. As with the other two columns, the basket element will be added later.

Rugged mountains and foothills form a spectacular backdrop to a community where ancient peoples lived more than 6,000 years ago. From the snow covered peak of Mt. San Antonio towering over 10,000 feet, the San Gabriel River drains a watershed of more than 600 square miles. The City of Azusa was founded in 1887 and incorporated as a general law city in 1898.

Today, Azusa is a model older suburban community undergoing growth and rejuvenation and will be home to two future Gold Line Stations – one at Alameda Street, in the heart of the city’s business and civic district, and the other at Citrus Avenue, steps away from Citrus College and Azusa Pacific University. Together, these institutions of higher education expand the daytime population of the city by thousands of students, faculty and visitors.

Learn how to get from the future Gold Line stations to many of Azusa’s points of interest by clicking here or on the image below to be directed to the Azusa Interactive Map.

The Construction Authority Board of Directors will be holding a meeting on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Arcadia City Hall, Council Chambers, 240 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007. Click here for more information or to view the meeting agenda and reports.

Habib Balian highlighted progress made in 2011 on the Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa, the benefits for the local and regional economy, and what to expect in 2012 when he was interviewed yesterday, December 28, by KNX 1070 Business Hour host Frank Mottek. Listen to a podcast of the interview by clicking on this LINK.

The Construction Authority issued the following press release today in response to a Superior Court’s decision to vacate a previous ruling from October 2011 that validated the Authority’s certified Supplemental EIR for the Pasadena to Azusa project. The Authority is planning on requesting a reversal of today’s decision, because the ruling was based on erroneous facts.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority Will Seek Reversal of Court Ruling on CEQA Lawsuit

Court’s Ruling Based on Factual Errors

MONROVIA – The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority (Construction Authority) announced today that it will request reversal of a court ruling released this morning, because it was based on erroneous facts. The ruling released today “vacates” a previous ruling that had validated the Construction Authority’s certification of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), which, among other things, found the Monrovia maintenance and operations (M&O) facility site environmentally superior to another site in the City of Irwindale. At issue in today’s ruling was the adequacy of the alternatives reviewed in the SEIR for the M&O facility.

While rejecting one of the arguments made by the petitioner – that the number of alternatives reviewed in the SEIR was insufficient – the ruling found, incorrectly, that the alternate site in Irwindale evaluated in the SEIR was not feasible because of its location. The ruling stated that the site was “located beyond the terminus of Phase 2A [Pasadena to Azusa] of the project.” In fact, the site in Irwindale, just south of the I-210 Freeway, is directly adjacent to the Phase 2A (Pasadena to Azusa) alignment.

“The basis of today’s ruling is quite confusing to us, as it seems to be based on a factual inaccuracy—that the alternative site evaluated for the M&O facility was outside the Pasadena to Azusa project area,” said Construction Authority CEO Habib F. Balian. “In fact, the alternative site evaluated in Irwindale not only sits directly along the project alignment, it also meets all other requirements set for the M&O facility. In the end, it was just found to be environmentally inferior to the Monrovia site.”

After a thorough, year-long process, that included multiple public meetings and hearings, the Construction Authority Board of Directors certified the SEIR, identifying the Monrovia M&O site as the preferred site, in January 2011.

“It is our hope that when the court understands that the Irwindale alternative site is located adjacent to the Pasadena to Azusa alignment , it will conclude that the Authority’s SEIR complied with CEQA’s requirements regarding analysis of project alternatives,” said Balian. “It is an unfortunate error, but it is one we trust the court will correct as quickly as possible.”

The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa is a $735 million project funded by Los Angeles County’s Measure R. The light rail extension is being overseen by the Construction Authority and is currently under construction. The project is on schedule to be completed in 2015, extending the Metro Gold Line light rail line from its current terminus in Pasadena along the Foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. The extension includes six stations in the Cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa. During the four year construction project, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation estimates that the project will generate nearly 7,000 jobs and $1 billion in economic output for the region.

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