Foothill Gold Line E-News

November 2021

UPDATES: Grade Crossing Updates; Upcoming Closures; Bridge Work in Glendora; Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. Bridge Work; Ongoing Freight Track Relocation; Project Update Video

Grade Crossing Updates: Recently Completed, Ongoing, and Upcoming

Crews continue to make great progress on the reconstruction of the 21 at-grade crossings for the project. With the re-opening of three more streets this past month (D St. in La Verne, and Walnut Ave. and Monte Vista Ave. in San Dimas), there are only a few crossings remaining that must still undergo reconstruction from Glendora to Pomona. However, some of the remaining ones are significant, including White Ave. in La Verne and San Dimas Ave. in San Dimas; both of which will close for several months starting in early December (see more details below in Upcoming Closures).

For now, here is more information on the crossings that recently reopened:

Photo: D St. grade crossing in La Verne reopen

This past Friday, crews completed reconstruction of the D St. grade crossing in La Verne, allowing it to reopen to motorists and pedestrians. And while KPJV had originally planned a second short closure of the crossing in the future to complete the freight track relocation, install the second light rail track and complete safety improvements, all work requiring a long-term street closure was completed during this past closure, so a second one is no longer needed.

Photo: Walnut Ave. grade crossing in San Dimas reopen

In San Dimas, crews recently completed the reconstruction of the Walnut Ave. grade crossing, allowing it to reopen to motorists and pedestrians on November 10. However, crews will return in the future to complete work on the roadway, median and sections of the sidewalk, which will require a second short closure.

And over at Monte Vista Ave. in San Dimas, the freight-only grade crossing recently underwent a three-day closure to remove and relocate the freight track to its new position. Later this year, Monte Vista Ave. will be permanently closed at the crossing to vehicles. A new pedestrian underpass will be built at Monte Vista Ave. to allow pedestrians continued access from the neighborhood south of the railroad corridor to the businesses along Bonita Ave., just north of the railroad corridor.

Photo: Relocated freight track at the Monte Vista Ave. grade crossing in San Dimas

Grade Crossing Reconstruction Underway in Glendora, San Dimas and La Verne

Photo: Crews installing new underground water line at the Pasadena Ave. grade crossing in Glendora

Crews are currently underway with the reconstruction of three grade crossings: Pasadena Ave. in Glendora, San Dimas Canyon Rd. in San Dimas/La Verne and A St. in La Verne.

At Pasadena Ave., the closure was recently extended three months (thru February 11, 2022) to allow crews time to complete the reconstruction work. The extension was needed due to an unexpected issue with an underground Southern California Edison utility, as well as to complete installation of a new underground water line that previously did not exist (one of the many betterments as a result of the project).

Photo: Crews removing existing freight track at the San Dimas Canyon Rd. grade crossing in San Dimas/La Verne

On November 12, crews began a three-week closure of the San Dimas Canyon Rd. grade crossing in San Dimas/La Verne to complete underground utility work and relocate the freight track. A longer full closure of the street will take place in the second quarter of 2022 to complete the remainder of the crossing work, including the installation of two new light rail tracks. For more information on the current closure, click here.

Photo: A St. grade crossing in La Verne

And finally, this week, crews began reconstructing the A St. crossing (north of Arrow Hwy.) in La Verne, requiring a full closure of the street for four months. In addition to underground utility work, new track installation, roadway reconstruction and safety improvements, crews will also construct a new right turn pocket from westbound Arrow Hwy. to northbound A St. Click here to learn more about the closure.

Upcoming Crossing Work Requiring Street Closures

Next Friday, December 3, following the reopening of San Dimas Canyon Rd., crews will begin reconstructing the White Ave. crossing (north of Arrow Hwy.) in La Verne, which will require a full closure of the street for approximately five months. The closure timeline includes reconstruction work being done by KPJV, as well as separate work to be conducted by Southern California Edison, Frontier Communication and SoCal Gas. For more information on this closure, click here.

Additionally, starting the following Monday, December 6, San Dimas Ave. will begin reconstruction in San Dimas, requiring a six-month full closure of the street to vehicles and pedestrians. For more information on this closure, click here.

As always, if you know anyone who may be impacted by these or other closures, they are encouraged to sign up for Construction Alerts at www.foothillgoldline.org.

Construction of New Light Rail and Freight Bridges

Overall, crews have now begun or completed construction on nearly all of the 19 light rail and freight bridges to be built from Glendora to Pomona.

In Glendora and San Dimas, construction is underway on the light rail bridges that will carry future Gold Line trains over major streets – at the Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection, at Route 66 and Lone Hill Ave. in Glendora, and at the Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. intersection in San Dimas. Each is required by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to improve safety for both the new light rail system and city streets. Below are updates on all of them:

Lone Hill Ave. (Light Rail Bridge)

The largest bridge on the 9.1-mile project is at Lone Hill Ave. When completed, the bridge will span 344 feet from abutment to abutment (abutments are the supports on each side of the super-structure). The super-structure will have a minimum vertical clearance of 24 feet to allow freight trains to travel underneath. This is the one location between Glendora and Pomona where the freight system will switch from south to north positions in the corridor to continue serving customers. To see what the bridge will look like when completed, click here for a 3D simulation.

Crews have made tremendous progress on the Lone Hill Ave. bridge in just the last month alone.

West of Lone Hill Ave., crews have begun constructing the retaining walls for the approach between the new light rail bridges at San Dimas Wash and Lone Hill Ave. As seen in the photo below, the walls will consist of custom form panels that feature the project’s citrus design.

Photo: Crews constructing the walls for the approach between the San Dimas Wash and Lone Hill Ave. light rail bridges in Glendora

At the center median on Lone Hill Ave., crews recently utilized a series of lane and full street closures to construct the foundations for the two ten-foot-diameter bridge columns on both sides of the already-relocated freight track. Crews began by drilling 80-foot-deep holes for both foundations. Then, over the course of a two-day full closure and one additional night closure, crews were able to successfully install two 80-foot-long, nine-foot-diameter steel cages into the foundation holes (photos below), followed by concrete pours, to complete the foundation work.

Photos: Crews installing the steel cages (top, middle) and pouring concrete (bottom) for the column foundations for the future light rail bridge over Lone Hill Ave.

East of the crossing, crews are also underway with the construction of the east abutment for the future bridge, as seen in the photo below.

Photo: Crews pouring concrete for the east abutment of the future light rail bridge over Lone Hill Ave.

Construction will continue on the light rail bridge over Lone Hill Ave. through the end of 2022, with long-term lane closures and a few days of full street closures ahead. To learn more, click here.

Route 66 (Light Rail Bridge)

Photos: Crews constructing the column foundations for the new light rail bridge over Route 66 in Glendora

Once crews were completed at Lone Hill Ave., they moved the large drill and crane needed to build the bridge column foundations over to Route 66. Directly adjacent to the existing freight bridge over Route 66 (which will remain intact), crews are making progress on the future light rail bridge. While they continue to work on the abutments for the future light rail bridge, crews have now started work on the column foundations in the median of the street. For safety, crews closed Route 66 between Hunters Trail and Compromise Line Rd. for ten days (from November 19-29) to perform this work. For more information on the closure, click here.

Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. Intersection (Light Rail Bridge)

Photo: Crews building the retaining walls for the approach for the future light rail bridge over Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. in Glendora

At the intersection of Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave., the west approach for the future light rail bridge continues to take shape. As seen in the photo above, the retaining walls for the approach consist of custom form panels that feature the project’s citrus design and will measure nearly 1,250 feet in length.

To understand what the future light rail bridge over Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. will look like, click here to see 3D simulations.

Little Dalton Wash (Freight Bridge)

Photo: Crews installing concrete girder for freight bridge over Little Dalton Wash in Glendora

In addition, on the southeast corner of the Foothill Blvd./Grand Ave. intersection, crews recently successfully installed two concrete girders for the freight bridge over Little Dalton Wash. It was the last installation of a freight girder for the Glendora to Pomona project.

In the future, the existing freight track seen in the photo above will be relocated onto the freight bridge over Little Dalton Wash. While light rail trains will travel over the intersection via the future light rail bridge, freight trains will continue to travel at street level.

Phase 3 of Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. Intersection Reconstruction in San Dimas – Construction of New Light Rail Bridge Continues

Photos: Crews constructing the walls of the east abutment for the new light rail bridge over Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. in San Dimas

Crews are currently in Phase 3 of a four-phased construction plan to reconfigure the Bonita Ave./Cataract Ave. intersection in San Dimas. This phase requires a full closure of Cataract Ave. north and south of Bonita Ave. through June 2022. Bonita Ave. traffic remains open in both directions, and the eastbound Bonita Ave. to southbound Cataract Ave. movement also remains open. For more information on the closure, click here.

Meanwhile, crews continue to make progress on the construction of the new light rail bridge. As seen in the photos above, crews are now constructing the walls for the east abutment of the bridge.

To learn more about the intersection improvements and future light rail bridge, click here.

Freight Track Relocation Nearing Completion

Photo: Crews installing the relocated freight track in San Dimas

Through the corridor in San Dimas and La Verne, nearly all of the existing freight track has been removed, and crews continue to install the new track in its relocated position. Overall, crews are nearly complete with the freight track relocation work. While the majority of the relocation will be completed by the end of this year, the short distance of freight track through Pomona will be relocated in 2022. Light rail construction is anticipated to start soon in Glendora.

To see more of these and other activities that took place this past month, click here or below to watch the November 2021 project highlight video.

Thank you for your continued interest in the Foothill Gold Line. We appreciate your patience as we build this important regional project, and wish you a safe and meaningful Thanksgiving holiday.

Lisa Levy Buch, Chief Communications and Strategic Development Officer and the Public Affairs Team