The Snake Belly Bridge is Now Done

The next time you drive under the new Gold Line bridge on the 210 Freeway, remember that you are lower than a snake's belly. Yup, the bottom of the bridge is patterned after a diamondback rattler.

Today the Gold Line folks gave the media a tour of the new 210 Freeway bridge, which (congrats!) was completed on time and on budget.

The press materials describe the bridge this way: "The 584-foot dual track Gold Line Bridge is anchored by two 25-foot 'baskets' that pay tribute to the indigenous peoples of the San Gabriel Valley and the oversize iconic roadside traditions of nearby Route 66. The serpentine main underbelly of the bridge features casted grooves and hatch-marks that simulate the patterns found on the Western Diamondback snake, metaphorically referencing the spine of the transit system. As the most visible element of one of the region's largest transit projects, the bridge serves as the Gateway to the San Gabriel Valley."

I wondered how much the art work that decorates the bridge cost. Answer: About $1 million of the $18.6 million cost or about five percent. But as a percentage of the total cost of the Foothill Extension, about half a percent.

A bit of trivia: Spokesman Habib Baluan said that a lot of the old rails that are being pulled up will be reused in the Line's maintenance yard in Monrovia.

- Brad Haugaard