What Are They Doing Down There?
Wow. Look how clean that water looks on the white plastic.
Currently there is construction underway both above the Arroyo Seco (on the Parkway) and in the creek bed itself. Just when you thought there was plenty of concrete in the Arroyo Seco, L.A. County Public Works has decided the waterway is in need of more. Below Heritage Square at Pasadena Avenue to the confluence with the Los Angeles River, contractors have channeled the water flowing from Pasadena, South Pasadena, Highland Park and the San Gabriels, so they can add even more concrete to the bottom of the Arroyo. It turns out the concrete was deemed too thin at this point, and in danger of failing during a flood.
So no completion of the proposed Arroyo Seco bike trail just yet, or anything as visionary as this converted wash in Seoul, South Korea. Just more cement, because there wasn’t enough there already.
On the bright side, thanks to construction run-off we can now see how the water from the Arroyo Seco merges with the water of the Los Angeles Ricer at the Confluence.
I’ve been wondering what they are doing too. Like you said, just seem to be breaking up cement and adding more. Yay!
If they let it thin out would we have anything similar to what is happening in the Los Feliz area and a ways south?
I’d also like to see more enter and exits along the water course
After weeks of having the construction vehicles sitting in the running water itself, they finally decided to put protective lining on the channel and divert the water so it wouldn’t be contaminated? Interesting.
I’ve also noticed that they are in major violation because when not in use, they aren’t parked over concrete liners to prevent any drips from the vehicles contaminating the concrete.
I did a little digging on the county website… looks like nearly a million dollars to rehab the channel… which appears to be doing just fine – it’s 3-4′ thick, no cracks or visible damage in my view. In my opinion, a missed opportunity. My pics of it here: http://lacreekfreak.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/construction-on-the-lower-arroyo-seco/
Thanks Joe!
Story in USC’s Neon Tommy about this construction.