Bikers will soon be able to ride across the Glendale-Hyperion Viaduct in a much safer manner. This historic bridge that was originally constructed in 1927 will see the return of many of its historic features along with the addition of new bicycle lanes. The project is expected to be completed in 2022. Engineers say that it will take that long because they are not allowed to work on the bridge from October to April due to environmental restrictions.
The bike lanes on the old Red Car Rail Piers will connect the Village and the Los Angeles River Bikeway on the river’s south side. Once completed, riders will also have a safe place to ride from the Los Angeles River Bikeway to Glendale Boulevard’s northbound lanes. The lanes will also allow riders to move from Atwater Village to the Los Angeles River Bikeway safely.Funding for the project will be provided by Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.
This addition has not been without controversy. When the Los Angeles City Council announced the project in 2015 it did not include the Red Car Rail Piers bicycle lanes. In fact, no bicycle lanes were included at all. Over 42 groups immediately announced their displeasure with the original plan. The plan has been reworked to its current specifications. One of the issues with the original plan, however, was that bikers would have to ride an additional 12 minutes to get across the viaduct and that does not seem to have been adequately addressed. Therefore, many worry that bikers may try to cross the Glendale-Hyperion Viaduct instead of traveling further to use the Red Car Rail Piers bridge.
The project will also allow for traffic lanes to be widened on the viaduct. According to LA Crubed, while work is ongoing, at least one lane of traffic will remain open in each direction.