Soto Street Bridge Removal

Soto Street Bridge Removal. Intersection Improvement Project. , The Soto Street Bridge was constructed in 1936 to separate vehicular traffic from the Pacific Electric railroad. Railroads were first introduced to the intersection in 1909 when Pacific Electric, under the leadership of Henry Huntington, constructed the Pasadena Shortline from downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena. Despite being considered a problematic intersection for many years, the railroad tracks were not grade separated until 1936. The old bridge, over 491 feet in length, was one of only a few bridges in the Pacific Electric system to carry four tracks in order to allow for both local and express trains., Through the years, the bridge and the configuration of crisscrossing roads below it could not accommodate the increased traffic of a modern thoroughfare and had a high rate of collisions. In 2013, in order to improve safety and traffic flow at the intersection, the city began construction on a $20 million project to remove the bridge and replace it with two new signalized intersections, complete with public art and open space. , In partnership with the Bureau of Engineering, Councilmember Huizar led a series of community meetings to solicit feedback on the landscape and public art design. Artist Michael Amescua was selected by the community to design the public art component for the project. His piece, entitled "An All Steel Metaphor," depicts steel butterflies moving north around poles that represent buildings or obstacles, as a metaphor for Mexican migration to the United States. The flower shapes at the top represent the flowers of the milk weed plant on which the monarch butterflies lay their eggs. On each pole there are shapes depicted that range from the spiritual jackalope to the important corn plant. , The improved intersections, open space, and public art are the result of collaboration between Councilmember Huizar and the local community and provide much needed safety improvements and green space to El Sereno, Rose Hills, Hillside Village and the surrounding communities.