Culver City construction photo gallery
See historic photo at bottom.
7/25/10 — MSE
(mechanically stabilized earth) walls are beginning on the east end of the
Culver City aerial section. You can see the shiny metal
grids in the distance that tie the walls into the earth fill.
7/24/10 — Falsework spans Washington; the end of the aerial structure is at far right.
7/20/10 — Falsework spans National Blvd.; Washington is next.
7/7/10 — Two weeks later finds sides up on the Culver City forms. Falsework hasn't yet spanned Washington and National Boulevards.
6/23/10 — Culver City falsework is advancing rapidly, seen from Venice and Robertson, with the bottom forms of the aerial station's curved section seeming to be finished.
6/10/10 — Falsework is beginning on the separate contract for the Culver City aerial station superstructure.
4/4/10 — The completed National Blvd. columns are artistically lit against a dark sky.
3/20/10 — The last columns' rebar cages are in place, between Washington and National Boulevards, looking east from Washington. The double-track bridge splits into two single-track bridges above these columns; the light blue arrow below on the right points to the last single column before the split.
2/23/10 — You can see multiple pairs of columns for the aerial Culver City station looking west of Washington.
1/7/10 — Although the Culver City station won't be built in the current Phase 1 contract, it looks like the columns will be completed, as seen in this photo of forms silhouetted at the Robertson end.
12/18/09 — The first column is complete, with its flared top.
11/13/09 — Forms are being assembled on one of the National columns.
10/24/09 — Cranes and two drilling rigs are west of Washington Blvd. in the construction staging area, beginning on both ends of the Culver City station footings.
10/20/09 — Two columns' rebar cages are in place east of the National crossing. The third column's footing is being bored at Wesley behind the white dump truck. The two cranes at far right are lifting its big rebar cage.
10/15/09 — Two cranes lowered this giant rebar cage — 15 feet in diameter and 108 feet long — into the second column footing hole, west of Wesley.
10/8/09 — There was a big concrete pour into the first column footing on the east side of National Blvd., with a long line of concrete trucks waiting. The two trucks on the left are unloading into the pump. After one empties it pulls out and the next takes its place. The crane in the center appears to be holding up a rebar cage in the hole.
9/18/09 — A rebar cage for the first Culver City bridge footing at Wesley is being assembled (above). Compare how deep the drilling rig has gone (below) with its 8/16/09 full-height photo farther down. This step is stabilizing the sandy soil before it the hole can be bored.
8/16/09 — A giant Malcolm Drilling BG-40 rig has been assembled on the right-of-way east of the National crossing, to drill the footing holes for the aerial structure in Culver City.
8/4/09 — The high-voltage power lines along National Blvd. in Culver City have been cut over to underground. Here is the new pole installed east of Washington to do that. You can see the darker pavement on the street where the new conduit was installed awhile ago. A similar pole takes the wires back up on the south side of Venice Blvd. west of National.
7/16/08 — This Expo Authority image shows the aerial structure from the Culver City station across Washington and National.
4/4/08 — The Culver City station site, seen from Venice and Robertson, is cleared for construction staging. The old track (bottom photo) was at the far right.
In November 2007 the Metro Board approved programming $50 million in Proposition 1B funds for the Culver City aerial station, and authorized staff to apply for these funds so this station could be part of Expo phase 1. Caltrans approved the the $50 million funding in March 2008.
1/12/07 — Looking east toward Ballona Creek, the old track crosses the westbound lanes of National Blvd. at Hayden Ave. in the near-distance.
6/26/06 — Looking west, the old track crossed National Blvd. west of Wesley Ave.
An eastbound Southern Pacific local freight train crosses the intersection of Venice and Robertson Boulevards in the 1980s.