As another year comes to a close and the project heads into its final year of construction, the West County Connectors team is taking a look back at the last 12 months and counting down the “Top Ten” milestones accomplished in 2013. From all of us on the WCC team, we are grateful for your tremendous patience and incredible support during construction.
10. WCC Outreach By the Numbers
With so many memorable construction moments in 2013, the community outreach team reached some notable milestones of our own! At number ten, the outreach stats accrued by the team over the last 12 months are truly staggering - from fliers distributed door-to-door, e-blasts sent to our database, and presentations provided to the community, check out the infographic to see how 2013 measured up.
9. “Know Before You Go!” – The WCC Interactive Google Map
It’s hard to believe that almost one year ago we introduced a new format to deliver closure information. The project team began plotting weekly closure schedules for the Garden Grove Freeway (SR-22), San Diego Freeway (I-405) and San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605), as well as detour information on a Google map. In addition to being user-friendly, the flexibility of this new format allows our team to update closure information in real-time which is especially helpful for the thousands of southern California commuters looking for ways to ease their commute. To date, the WCC Google map has more than 32,000 views and counting!
8. A Year in the Making: Eastbound SR-22 / Northbound I-405 Reopens
After a yearlong closure, the new 7th Street / eastbound SR-22 connector to the northbound I-405 freeway re-opened on Saturday, October 26. Crews worked day and night over the last year to reconstruct the connector, which had to be moved to make room for the new I-405 / I-605 carpool connector.
The new I-405 portion of the connector currently includes a temporary ramp to the I-605, maintaining access for the traveling public while reconstruction of the northbound I-605 portion of the 7th Street / eastbound SR-22 connector is under way in the coming months.
7. Picture This – The Year of Infographics
We are always looking for fun ways to communicate project information, and this year, we rolled out a series of infographics to help convey construction facts. An infographic is an illustrated or graphic visual representation of information or data that conveys complex information quickly and clearly. This year, our graphic artists created several infographics including ones for the reopening of the west half of the Seal Beach Boulevard bridge, Bridge Bash and Thankful Thursdays during the month of November.
6. Superstructure Soars Above the I-405 – Major Progress on Carpool Connectors
Coming in at number six - the amazing progress crews have made on the SR-22 / I-405 and I-405 / I-605 carpool connectors. Traffic on the SR-22, I-405 and I-605 freeways has been shifted to the outside lanes of the widened roadways, allowing crews to begin construction activity in the center median. Among one of the most visible milestones of the year, is the progress made on the I-405 / I-605 carpool connector. Falsework construction on the I-405 / I-605 carpool connector has been under way for the last few months and the superstructure of the new flyover is finally beginning to take shape. Several major concrete pours have been completed over the last several weeks and the bridge is literally coming to life. A few sections of the bridge deck have been poured for the I-405 / I-605 connector and here are some great pictures from the top of the new connector.
The SR-22 / I-405 carpool connector also is currently slated to be one of the last structures completed on the project. As we approach the end of the year, the bridge columns for the new flyover connector are visible in between the SR-22 and I-405 freeways and pile driving is under way to prepare the bridge foundation.
5. Partnership & Teamwork Prevail
Earlier this year, the team was put to the test when an un-related project incident occurred within the project area. Back in March, a truck hauling a 200-ton piece of machinery was driving on the 7th Street / eastbound SR-22 to northbound I-605 connector. The machinery fell off of the truck onto the connector, damaging a portion of the bridge and guardrail, but thankfully no one was injured. While this incident was not related to the WCC project, without missing a beat the team sprang into action and performed an emergency closure of the connector, to allow Caltrans to safely assess the damage and develop a plan to repair the bridge.
In the days and weeks following the incident, the WCC outreach team, OCTA and Caltrans partnered to alert the public of the resulting emergency closure on the connector. Multiple construction alerts were sent out to keep the public informed and updates were posted via social media pages.
Over the next few months OCTA, Caltrans and the project contractor, Atkinson Construction worked closely to conduct repair work on the connector, right alongside routine construction activities on the WCC project. In just six months, thanks to the great teamwork and dedication of all involved, repairs to the damaged connector were completed.
4. West Half of Seal Beach Boulevard Bridge Reopens
Coming in at number four is one of the most highly anticipated milestones on the WCC project. Motorists endured nearly twelve months of congestion and delays on Seal Beach Boulevard, while traffic was reduced to just one lane in each direction as crews worked to reconstruct the west half of the bridge. Finally on Sunday, September 15, the new west half of the bridge was completed and traffic was restored to two lanes in either direction, much to the delight of the local motorists.
It’s been three months since the west half of the bridge was completed and traffic is once again flowing freely on Seal Beach Boulevard. Crews have begun phase two of this endeavor - reconstructing the east half of the bridge. When reconstruction efforts on Seal Beach Boulevard bridge are completed in mid-2014, the new bridge will include four northbound lanes and three southbound lanes. For more information about the reconstruction efforts on the Seal Beach Boulevard bridge visit www.octa.net/SealBeachBridge.
3. Social Media Successes: Facebook Page Booms & WCC Joins Instagram
Thanks to the unprecedented coverage of Bridge Bash, as well as the #BridgeBash hashtag, the WCC project Facebook page reached 1,000 fans on Tuesday, August 13. Social media played an integral part in allowing the team to share up-to-the-minute information during the weekend of Bridge Bash, including closure, photo, video and traffic updates. It also allowed the WCC project team to interact with followers and respond to questions and comments in real time. Also in 2013, the WCC team joined Instagram to share exclusive behind the k-rail photos and videos. Like the WCC Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @WCCProjectInfo for project updates!
2. #BridgeBash
The WCC project’s most publicized milestone in 2013 was Bridge Bash – the demolition of the old southbound I-405 / eastbound SR-22 connector, required a 20-hour full closure of the I-405 between the I-605 and Valley View Street in Westminster.
Crews closed the I-405 in both directions at 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 17 and successfully reopened the southbound I-405 to traffic hours ahead of schedule at 2:20 p.m. on Sunday, August 18. The northbound I-405 also reopened earlier than expected at 3 p.m. The construction team shut down the freeway in order to safely and efficiently demolish the 50-year-old bridge that had linked the southbound I-405 to eastbound SR-22.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, this portion of the I-405 freeway between Seal Beach Boulevard and the SR-22 experiences the nation's highest traffic volumes with 379,000 vehicles on the freeway on a typical busy day.
During the estimated $700,000 demolition, approximately 70 workers utilized more than 50 pieces of equipment, including 10 excavators, to chip away at the bridge, while 120 steel plates protected the freeway surface below. Crews recycled the concrete from the old bridge and used the material on other parts of the project.
Throughout the demolition process, unprecedented numbers of news outlets covered the "Bridge Bash." With near-constant coverage on multiple live television and radio stations, the news media helped OCTA raise public awareness about the freeway closure and provide detour information to mitigate traffic congestion on one of the busiest freeways in the ¬¬nation.
Live updates using the #BridgeBash hashtag on social media sites also helped advise hundreds of thousands of motorists to avoid the area or plan their detours ahead of time. After the demolition, OCTA shared a time-lapse video that captured the entire demolition process.
1. It’s the Final Countdown! - WCC Project Enters Last Year of Construction
Finally, at number one - the most highly anticipated highlight for the WCC team is almost here. As 2013 comes to a close the team is eagerly looking forward to the last year of project construction! When construction began on the project in fall-2010 the list of milestones to be completed was staggering – reconstruct six bridges, re-align three freeway connectors, reconstruct numerous on- and off-ramps, widen the roadway to add an additional carpool lane in each direction and build two flyover carpool connectors, with as little disruption to traffic as possible - all along one of the most traveled stretches of freeway in the nation!
Phew! It’s exhausting just recounting the list – but after three years of what at times feels like round-the-clock construction, we’ve accomplished a lot. Four of the six bridges have been completed (Valley View Street, 7th Street, Southbound I-405 / Eastbound SR-22 and 7th Street / Eastbound SR-22 / Northbound I-405), all three of the connectors have been realigned, the I-405 freeway has been widened to accommodate new carpool lanes and progress continues to be made every day.
So what’s left for 2014? We like to call them the Big Three – finish reconstruction of the Seal Beach bridge, and complete the new SR-22 / I-405 and I-405 / I-605 carpool connectors. From 2010 to now, the work that has been completed over the last three years is pretty incredible. And while the WCC team recognizes that construction is never easy, we are so thankful to all of the residents, business owners and commuters who’ve made it possible for us to accomplish all that we have.
