On any given day, more than 300 crew members are out in the corridor constructing the various elements and structures that make up the 9.1-mile Glendora to Pomona project. They are currently rebuilding the last few grade crossings, installing the new light rail system and two of the four stations, constructing the light rail bridges, installing safety equipment, and more. With the tremendous progress, they continue to make, the project is on track to be 50% complete in early summer.
Grade Crossing Reconstruction: Late last month, crews were able to complete the reconstruction of the White Ave. grade crossing in La Verne (photo below, left) and nearly completed the crossing at San Dimas Ave in San Dimas (photo below, right.) which is scheduled to reopen early this month. At both at-grade crossings, crews installed two new light rail tracks and the relocated freight track; completed extensive underground utility work; installed a host of safety improvements; finished the work necessary to reopen the street, including reconstructing the roadway, curbs, gutters, new medians and sidewalks. (NOTE: At White Ave., crews will need to come back after the LA County Fair is over – using lane closures – to complete some of the finishing work for the roadway, medians and sidewalks).
Currently, grade crossing reconstruction continues at Cataract Ave. in San Dimas (which is now fully closed north and south of Bonita Ave. through August), and at Garey Ave in Pomona. As shown below (left), crews are relocating existing overhead SoCal Edison power lines underground, as KPJV prepares for a two-month full intersection closure at Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. this summer. At Garey Ave (photo below, right), crews are protecting existing underground utilities. As part of this work, crews have implemented single lane closures on Garey Ave. at the railroad crossing, which will continue through the end of the year. A full closure of Garey Ave. is needed to complete the crossing reconstruction, but that work has not yet been scheduled.
Looking ahead, work will be underway this month and in early June in Glendora near the Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection and on Route 66 under the light rail bridge, and in San Dimas/La Verne at the San Dimas Canyon Rd. grade crossing.
Near the intersection of Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. in Glendora, crews have just initiated a long-term reconfiguration of traffic lanes on both streets near the intersection to maintain traffic movement in all directions as the light rail bridge is built over the intersection in the coming months. Expect delays through this area starting the first week of the month and continuing through December 2022. NOTE: A full closure of the intersection will be needed later this year, and a notice will be distributed.
In addition, on May 9, crews will begin major reconstruction of the San Dimas Canyon Rd. grade crossing (north of Arrow Hwy.) in San Dimas/La Verne. This work follows a short, two-week closure that took place in late 2021 to relocate the freight track through the crossing and requires a full closure of the street at the crossing for approximately five and a half months.
Finally, on the evening of Thursday, June 2, Route 66 between Hunters Trail and Compromise Line Rd. (just west of Lone Hill Ave.) in Glendora is scheduled to be fully closed to all traffic (vehicular and pedestrian) for one night to place concrete for the Route 66 light rail bridge, currently under construction.
Station Construction: Work continues to be underway on the Glendora and La Verne stations and will be underway soon at the San Dimas and Pomona stations. All light rail stations from Glendora to Pomona will be center platform stations with light rail tracks on both sides.
In Glendora, crews continue to make progress constructing the platform for the future Glendora Station (photo below, left). Crews recently completed concrete pours for most of the platform deck and continue to install conduit for the future ticket vending machines on both ends of the platform. Once that conduit work is completed, crews will pour concrete at both ends of the platform to complete the deck. Additionally, at the site of the future Glendora station parking facility (south of the station and shown below, right), crews removed the remaining vacated building. In its place in the future will be a surface parking lot with amenities for riders arriving by bus, walking, bicycle and drop-off.
Within the corridor between E St. and White Ave. in La Verne, crews recently began constructing the foundation for the future La Verne station platform. As seen in the photo below (left), crews are installing steel rebar and form panels before pouring concrete in sections to complete the platform foundation. And, at the site of the future parking facility for the Pomona station, crews recently completed the demolition of the last vacated building that was purchased as part of the project (photo below, right). In its place in the future will be a surface parking lot with amenities for riders arriving by bus, walking, bicycle and drop-off.
Nineteen Bridges: Nineteen bridges are being built new or renovated as part of the Glendora to Pomona project segment. As of this month, all of the freight bridges and one of the light rail bridges are complete, and work is well underway on the remaining light rail bridges.
While most of the light rail bridgework underway will provide passage for the trains to cross channels and waterways, below are updates on the four new light rail bridges that will cross major city streets – all of which are required by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to improve safety for both the new light rail system and city streets. All four are now underway and on schedule to be completed late this year or early next year.
Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. Bridge (Glendora): With both abutments (the supports at the ends of the bridge) completed, crews continue to focus their efforts on constructing the west and east approaches that lead up to the new light rail bridge. Each approach is about 1,300 feet long.
At the west approach, which has been under construction since last summer, crews are currently constructing the foundations for the sound walls. When ready, the sound wall panels will be installed along the length of the approach. Sound walls will also be installed for the east approach in the future.
Across the intersection, the east approach for the bridge (photos above) continue to take shape as crews construct the retaining walls. The retaining walls for both approaches consist of custom form panels that feature the project’s citrus design.
In the near future, crews will begin constructing the falsework (the temporary support for the super- structure as it is built across the street). Ahead of that work, crews recently reconfiguring the traffic lanes on Foothill Blvd. and Grand Ave. near the intersection to maintain traffic flow in all directions during the falsework installation and bridge construction.
Route 66 Bridge (Glendora): Construction of the falsework, west abutment and west approach continue to be underway for the future light rail bridge over Route 66 in Glendora. The falsework is the temporary support for the super-structure as it is built across the street. As seen in the photos below, the falsework now spans from abutment to abutment over Route 66. Once the falsework is in place, crews will begin constructing the super-structure.
During the falsework installation and some of the bridge construction, nightly intermittent lane or bi- directional closures of Route 66 between Hunters Trail and Compromise Line Rd. are taking place. This will continue through September; and as explained above, there will be a full nighttime closure of Route 66 on the night of Thursday, June 2.
Lone Hill Ave. Bridge (Glendora): With the center columns and both abutments completed, crews are now focused on assembling and installing the falsework over Lone Hill Ave. The falsework is the temporary support for the super-structure as it is built across the street and is made up of a combination of steel and wood beams. Crews are currently assembling the parts for the falsework on- site (photos below). Once in place, the falsework will span from abutment to abutment.
Construction will continue on the Lone Hill Ave. bridge through the end of 2022, with long-term lane closures and a few days of full street closures ahead.
Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. Bridge (San Dimas): Crews continue to make good progress on the future light rail bridge over the Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. intersection in San Dimas. Following April’s successful concrete pour for the internal portion of the super-structure, crews completing the same process (installing rebar and forms and then placing concrete) for the deck of the super-structure, as seen in the photo below (left).
Once the concrete of the deck cured, crews moved on to the next phase of work – to strengthen the super-structure. As seen in the photo below (right), this process involves running steel cables through
the super-structure from one end to the other, and then tensioning the cables to help reinforce the integrity of the super-structure and increase its strength.
Just to the east of the bridge work, crews continue to construct the east approach, as seen in the photo below (left). Crews are currently constructing the retaining walls for the approach, which consist of custom form panels that feature the project’s citrus design.
The east approach will stretch from the intersection to just west of San Dimas Ave. The length of the approach means that the existing railroad crossing at Monte Vista Ave. will need to be permanently closed to vehicular traffic in the future (a date for that closure is not yet finalized). Pedestrians, however, will continue to be able to travel north and south on Monte Vista Ave. after the street is closed by way of a pedestrian undercrossing. Crews are currently constructing the walls of the pedestrian undercrossing (photo below, right).
Light Rail Track System: Along the project corridor just north of Arrow Hwy. in San Dimas and La Verne, crews have begun constructing the foundation for the light rail track system by placing layers of subgrade, sub-ballast and ballast (crushed rocks) throughout the light rail track portion of the corridor. Crews will later install the light rail tracks on top of the ballast.
Status Update: Project Completion to Claremont and Montclair: To complete the Foothill Gold Line to Claremont and Montclair, the Construction Authority has requested a $748 million budget allocation from the State of California as part of the FY 2022-23 budget cycle. The budget negotiation process is currently ongoing in Sacramento and is expected to be completed in the next few months.
The Construction Authority is prepared to begin a procurement process to hire a design-build team for the 3.1-mile, two-station project segment, if the funds are secured. Construction of this complicated segment is expected to take about five years once a design-build team is hired. We thank all of the project partners and state legislators for their support of the project’s funding request.
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