Infrastructure Demolition Attracts Local Firms

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Infrastructure Demolition Attracts Local Firms
Cultural Connection: Rendering of the “Rumblefish” bridge across the L.A. river.

Infrastructure projects usually involve building something — a highway, a bridge, or an airport terminal. If something is torn down, it’s replaced by a bigger, better version as is the case with the Gerald Desmond Bridge at the Port of Long Beach.

But local construction firms will soon begin an infrastructure project in Long Beach that involves tearing something down and not replacing it: in this case, generators at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s Haynes Generating Station.

It’s all part of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s plan to transition the DWP away from fossil fuels and toward 100% renewable energy by 2045. Four of the natural gas-fueled generators at the 1960s-era Haynes station have been out of commission for several years; instead of refurbishing and updating them, the Garcetti administration decided to scrap them.

The department tapped Lowell, Mass.-based TRC Cos. Inc. to oversee the $106 million demolition project, which is set to begin this summer and last more than a year. According to TRC spokesman Doug Hanchett, the company will be staffing the project from its downtown and Irvine offices, and will maintain a field office at the plant in southeast Long Beach. TRC will provide engineering, procurement, demolition, disposal and site remediation services.

Among the slate of subcontractors TRC has selected are five from L.A. County, including California Testing & Inspections Inc. of Paramount, Oil Field Restoration Services Inc. of Signal Hill (the site is next to an oil field) and Patriot Environmental Services of Wilmington.

Once the units are demolished, the LADWP plans to use the space for energy storage to accommodate excess solar power from the grid.

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“Rumblefish” Bridge PLANNED Over LA River

Site preparation has begun and an official groundbreaking is scheduled in coming weeks for a 400-foot, $19-million bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the Los Angeles River near the Taylor Yard park, connecting Elysian Valley (“Frogtown”) with Cypress Park.

The principal designer of the distinctive orange bridge is Culver City-based Studio Pali Fekete Architects; the Los Angeles office of London-based Arup Group Ltd. is doing other engineering work. Pasadena-based Tetra Tech Inc. has provided hydrology analysis.

SPF Architects has named the bridge “Rumblefish,” in reference to the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film of the same name about rival gangs in Tulsa, Okla. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Elysian Valley area was the site of several gang-related shootings. On its website, SPF calls the bridge a “peaceful community collision.”

The 17-foot-wide bridge and adjoining walkway have been designed to ‘float’ within an orange truss structure, according to SPF’s website. The path slopes to meet the different elevations of the banks while the truss is completely level.

During construction, the site says, portions of the bridge structure will be assembled in an adjacent yard to minimize the amount of work required above the riverbed.

The prime contractor on the project is Irvine-based Ortiz Enterprises Inc.

According to the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, which is overseeing the bridge construction, completion is set for early 2021.

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Catalina Airport Runway Project Wraps

While plenty of attention has been focused on LAX’s overhaul, a much smaller airport, Catalina Island’s Airport in the Sky, was scheduled to reopen on May 3 after the main runway was completely redone.

ACE Clearwater Enterprises Inc., a Torrance-based aerospace and power generation manufacturing company, donated $1.5 million toward the $5 million runway repair project and received naming rights for the airfield. ACE Clearwater’s chief executive Kellie Johnson is also the board chair of the Catalina Island Conservancy, which is overseeing the project.

The Airport in the Sky is the island’s main air link to the Southern California mainland; last year, the airport had more than 7,000 flights, mostly from private aircraft.

The 3,250-footlong runway, originally built during World War II, has required frequent patching over the years to fill potholes and other temporary repairs; these repairs eventually cost the conservancy more than $2 million a year, prompting the nonprofit to seek to replace the asphalt with more durable concrete.

The runway repair work was completed over three months by a crew of about 200 Navy Seabees. The airport was closed to aircraft traffic during that time.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8327.

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